Events & Issues
New Delhi, 29 April
2021
Unity
in Crisis
AN APTITUDE TEST
By Dr S.Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
The Supreme Court on 22nd April, on its own, took
cognizance of the grave COVID-19 situation
in the country and asked the Union government to furnish within 24 hours a
national plan to “bolster supply of oxygen, medicines, treatment, and
vaccines”. It is a “nationalhealth
emergency situation” in the words
of the Bench headed by the CJI. The Centre was asked to respond particularly to
three issues – setting up a national body for equitable distribution of these resources, declaring importantmedicines
and medical equipment and oxygen as essential commoditiesunderESMA, andlogistics
for seamless inter-State distributionof medicines and oxygen.
All these issues are concernedwith sharing of
required materials in the country among various States and UTs to control the
epidemic. Distribution within the States, between districts, among hospitals
and COVID centres,and among patients come next whenever and wherever there is
scarcity of required goods. The problems that arise, various stand taken and attitudes
shown by concerned agencies and clients,
and commentsmade and actions taken in this crisis betray the strength and
weakness of the nation’s ability and
willingness to rise as one to fight a national
health disaster.COVID-19 affects
the entire nation,but in different degrees in different places. It is
regrettable that the country has displayed its lowestlevel of unity and
solidarity and meanness that surpasses imagination and needs judicial
intervention.
True, people arenot incapable of acting
together andhave acted as oneon several occasions, but we are cursed with dirty
party politics, and parochial attachments like language, State, district,
locality, community, etc., overtaking national feeling and
sense of sharing.
The court asked whether the Centre had any
coordinating body to consider distribution issues in a consultative manner with States and UTs.The second
wave ofthe pandemicis spreading very fast and does not give time for
deliberations. Butthatneed not prevent Statesfrom coming forward to act
as one unit.
Six High Courts
also dealt with similar cases and had passed orders concerning distribution of oxygen and drugs. The SC directed Union and State/UT governments and
other parties that had approached courts
to show cause why uniform orders be not passed by the SC regarding supply
of oxygen and drugs, vaccination
programme, lockdown, etc.
Obviously, panic has gripped the entire
nation knockingat the doors of courts to seek judicial remedy for thelack of unity between
authorities engaged in fighting Coronavirus. This is another addition to the burden of High Courts and
Supreme Court to ease the tension building up between governments,
politicalparties, andleaders.Federal setup, local bodies, decentralisation, and delegation meant for
better administration and meaningful participation are being misused to promote narrowness in
outlook. Contempt and notfriendship forms the basis of relationships!
Delhi’s oxygen crisis has rocked the entire
nation and several hospitals have approached the Delhi court. Complaints are
made of blockage ofoxygen tanks in Haryana, and
failure of Delhi Government to make arrangement for tanks for supplies
from other States. Delhi High Court’s observation that the efforts Delhi
Government has to make cannot be trivialised, and they should not leave it
entirely tothe Central Government to act in this regardwas needed to
awaken States/UTs to realise their responsibility and act.
Union government asked the States on 23rd
April to comply with Delhi High Court’s order on transport of oxygen and warned
them that non-compliance would be treated as contempt of court and would be proceeded against under the
Disaster Management Act of 2005 and the
IPC. Home Ministry has also asked for
details of oxygen plants in various States and to take action to reopen closed
plants. Supply of oxygen for industrial purposes has been prohibited.
As oxygen shortage caused death of 24
patients in Delhi, even courts lose their patience. Delhi High Court said that it would hang anyone who
tried to obstruct oxygen supply to the city that could prove fatal for patients
in hospitals.“We are not going to spare
anyone whether it is a senior officer or junior officer from Centre, State,or
local authority”, said the court on the
ground that disruption of oxygen supply is a “criminal offence”. Short supply and sudden
increase in demand cannot be a proper
excuse for a State/UT to put the blame entirely
on the Centre.
Centre-State collaboration to find solutions is
vital in the matter which is what is lacking
in this hour of crisis.Hopelessfallofnationalsentiments and human feelings!Power
struggle dominates over everything.
The SC has also agreed to hear the plea on
reopening the Sterlite Copper Plant in Tamil Nadu which was closed in 2018 due to pollution problem to produce
thousand tonnes of oxygen and supply it
free of cost to COVID patients. The objection of the Government of Tamil Nadu was
sternly set aside by the SC highlighting the health crisis in the country and
rejecting the attempts “to put spokes in the solution”. Some
politicalpartiesandNGOs also opposed the reopening of the plant despite urgent need for oxygen for
saving lives.
The CJI seemed extremely angry at the stand
assumed by the State that there was no need to
produce oxygen in the State. “You can’t say you are in surplus, so you
need not produce oxygen. The country
is in bad need of oxygen. It should not
be that every State produces and uses up its own oxygen…Oxygen must be produced
from a place capable of producing it…The Constitution demands that material
resources should be equally distributed all over the country”, the court had to remind the States which sounds like an elementary lesson on
cooperative federalism not learnt by power holders/seekers.Tamil Nadu has now
agreed to open the plant for four
months.
It is a clear case of lack of will to tackle
the national crisis and find a solution ensuring compliance with environmental
concerns and refusal and/or incapacity to see beyond one’s nose. Within couple
of days, Tamil Nadu has urged PM to cancel the order to send 80 tonnes of oxygen to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in
view of rising cases in TN which will increase demand for oxygen.
That no State is self-sufficient is sadly ignored. In the same way, no nation is
self-sufficient, but rarely realised. Germany, France, Italy, and five more EU
countries which agreed to coordinate vaccination campaigns and share data and
fight online misinformation are somewhat different.
When sentiments are so narrow in the country,
there is little justification to nurse grievance against US administration’sVax
Policy “Americans First”, and stockpiling of vaccines for future use and ban on
export of raw materials to produce vaccines to other countries. It has taken
many days for US to modify its policy under the pressure of global crisis.
The pandemic haslaid bare the true colours of
many actors in various places.It is not just a health crisis. It is an aptitude testfor quality of Indian politics
and national spirit. Bestand worst facesof
crisisbehaviour are exposed.---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
|