The Supreme Court has set up a 12-member National Task Force (NTF) to facilitate public health response, including on supply of oxygen and essential drugs, to tackle "unprecedented human crisis" during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said that the establishment of this Task Force will enable the decision-makers of the Union government to have inputs based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge, which would go beyond finding ad-hoc solutions to the present problems.
The top court noted also said the likely future course of the pandemic, a possible third wave, must be taken into contemplation at the present time. It asked the Task Force to take up the “pressing issue of determining the modalities for oxygen expeditiously within a week”.
"The leading experts in the country shall associate with the work of the Task Force to facilitate a meeting of minds and the formulation of scientific strategies to deal with an unprecedented human crisis," the bench said.
The Task Force, which has to start working immediately, would continue for a period of six months. The Union Government, which agreed to the formation of such an expert body and suggested names, would have to take a decision on recommendations of the Task Force, the court said.
The court also ordered an audit of oxygen in Delhi by forming a panel headed by AIIMS Delhi director Dr Randeep Guleria, while maintaining that the Centre should continue to supply 700 MT every day to the capital.
It also directed for setting up a sub-group under the Task Force for Oxygen audit for each State and Union Territory.
With this, "the projected future requirements can be scientifically mapped in the present and may be modulated in the light of experiences gained. Estimating projected needs is crucial to ensure that the country remains prepared to meet future eventualities, which will cause a demand for oxygen, medicines, infrastructure, manpower and logistics," the bench said.
The terms of reference of the Task Force include formulation and devising a methodology for the allocation of medical oxygen to the states and UTs on a scientific, rational and equitable basis, suggest measures for the availability of drugs and medicines, augment availability of doctors and staff among others.
In view of growing demands from states for liquid medical oxygen and other essentials, the court said setting up the NTF would ensure that projected future requirements can be scientifically mapped in the present and may be modulated in the light of experiences gained.
The members of the NTF are: Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, Former Vice Chancellor, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata; Dr Devender Singh Rana, Chairperson, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi; Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairperson and Executive Director, Narayana Healthcare, Bengaluru; Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu; Dr JV Peter, Director, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu; Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairperson and Managing Director, Medanta Hospital and Heart Institute, Gurugram; Dr Rahul Pandit, Director, Critical Care Medicine and ICU, Fortis Hospital, Mulund (Mumbai, Maharashtra) and Kalyan (Maharashtra); Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairman & Head, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi; Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, Senior Professor and Head of Department of Hepatology, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS), Delhi; Dr Zarir F Udwadia, Consultant Chest Physician, Hinduja Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital and Parsee General Hospital, Mumbai; Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (ex officio member); and the Cabinet Secretary or an officer not below rank of Additional Secretary, to the Union Government as convenor .
The court said the task force can draw upon the human resources of the Union Government for consultation and information, including the following: (i) A member of Niti Aayog to be nominated by the Vice-Chairperson; (ii) Secretary, Ministry of Human Affairs; (iii) Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade; (iv) Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; (v) Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; (vi) Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi; (vii) Director General of Health Services; and (viii) Director General, National Informatics Centre; and (ix) Head, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).