Supreme Court sets up National Task Force to allocate medical oxygen during COVID-19

The Supreme Court of India in an order passed on May 6, 2021, constituted a 12-member national task force that would assist with formulating a methodology for the allocation of medical oxygen to states and union territories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Supreme Court has constituted the national task force at a time when the country is experiencing a shortage of medical oxygen to handle the mounting cases of COVID-19. Hence, the Court devised the national task force in the spirit to set up an ‘effective and transparent mechanism’ and ‘streamline the process’ for allocating medical oxygen to all states and union territories.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and DY Chandrachud informed that the Union Cabinet Secretary will serve as the convenor of the national task force. The Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will serve as an ex-officio member of the task force. Sandeep Budhiraja, Max Healthcare, Randeep Guleria, AIIMS, and two IAS officers – one each from the Centre and the Delhi government, will also be part of the task force.

12-member National Task Force: Key highlights

•The task force will help the government with strategies and inputs to solve the challenges of the pandemic on a professional and transparent basis.

•The task force will constitute sub-groups or committees within each state and UT that will consist of an officer of the State or UT government (not below the rank of Secretary to the State Govt.), an officer of the Centre (not below the rank of Additional/Joint Secretary), two medical doctors in the State/UT, and a representative from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO).

•The sub-groups or committees within each state and UT will audit to confirm if the supplies by the Centre reached the concerned state or UT, assess the efficiency of the distribution networks regarding supplies for healthcare institutions and hospitals, and determine if the available stocks are being dispersed in an effective, professional, and transparent mechanism.

•The task force will not interfere or scrutinize the decisions of the doctors but only ensure the successful distribution of the supplies and oxygen to every state or UT.

•The tenure of the task force has been set six months initially. The Centre has been asked to nominate two nodal officers who will be responsible for logistics, communication, and arrangement of virtual meetings of the task force.

•The task force will be provided with complete and real-time data from the Centre and State governments. All the healthcare institutions and hospitals are advised to cooperate with the task force.