Govt. resends file to L-G for panel approval of panel to inquire into oxygen deaths

Committee will probe into deaths due to oxygen crisis during second wave

Workers refill medical oxygen cylinders for patients at a city hospital in New Delhi.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said that the government has resent a file to the Lieutenant-Governor for approval for a committee to inquire into alleged deaths due to oxygen shortage in the city.

Mr. Sisodia said that he has also sent a letter to the Union Home Minister requesting him to direct the L-G to approve the inquiry committee constituted by the Delhi government.

Responsible govt.

“The courts and the Central government have asked States for the number of deaths due to lack of oxygen. A high-level committee of medical experts will be constituted by the Delhi government to probe into the deaths due to lack of oxygen in Delhi. We have sent the file for approval of the inquiry committee to the L-G in this regard and hope that the L-G will approve the committee soon,” the Minister said.

Mr. Sisodia said that as a responsible government, it should not run away from the issue, but should fix the system and carry out reforms instead of “hiding the information”.

“Hiding information is not the hallmark of a good governance model,” he said.

He said that the L-G should pass the file so that the committee can complete its investigation and send its report to the Central government and the court so that correct data can be disclosed to the public.

In July, the Central government had said that no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by States or UTs during the second wave.

It has been a controversial issue since then with the Delhi government initially saying that data was not sought from the State and later changing its stand to not enough time was given to send the data to the Central government.