ILNS: The Indira Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, which was opened with a lot of fanfare recently, is not yet fully functional, and whatever facility is there, it cannot deal with emergency situations, the Dwarka Court Bar Association (DCBA) told the Delhi High Court today.
The Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, which is hearing COVID-related issues of the Capital on a day-to-day basis, asked for a definitive timeline of completion from the government.
DCBA President Advocate YP Singh told the Court: “I have information that there are eight patients and there are no emergency services. This is the information i received at 0900 hrs.”
Justice Sanghi told Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the State of Delhi: “You were to file an affidavit.”
Mehra: “We filed it yesterday.”
Singh: “They are not admitting patients whose oxygen level is below 90. And they do not have any emergency services.”
Justice Sanghi: “Mr Mehra, you have mentioned that ICU beds will not be available.”
Mehra: “Milord, this will take some time. If the Principal Secretary, Department of Health has submitted an affidavit, it carries some face value (thought). We could not have gone any higher (not done any better).”
Justice Sanghi: “OK, we will direct you to file an affidavit with the complete timeline and that should be complied with. When was it scheduled to be completed?”
Mehra: “The petitioners here may say whatever they want to, but Milords, we are working. See the Central government, they are just sitting. No direction has been passed for the Centre.”
Justice Sanghi: “We don’t know where we’ll be after two months after the third wave. So, we want you to file the timeline.”
Mehra: “This is surely not a petitioner where Milords can ask us to adhere…”
Justice Palli: “You are taking it to another tangent. We are asking something else.”
Mehra: “The Centre has said that these beds are for citizens of Delhi, which is not the case here.”
Justice Palli: “We are asking you about the second paragraph of your affidavit. By what time will the beds be available?”
Justice Sanghi asked what happens if the facility is not available even by the time the next wave comes.
Mr Singh: “Milords, there is no facility. I don’t know what Mr Mehra is submitting. My friend died few days back, another Advocate friend died in December.”
The court ordered: “There is no reason that the state should not complete the project. The state should learn from the bitter experience of a couple of days ago. People of Delhi are suffering due to the present outbreak of the pandemic. A couple of days ago, many of the patients succumbed without getting a chance of being treated. The state should therefore make the project operational at the earliest.
“We, therefore, direct the State to file an affidavit telling about the timeline for the completion of the Indira Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, which should be adhered to. Let the affidavit be filed within a week. Listed after 10 days,” the Court ordered.