Supreme Court sets up 12-member panel to monitor oxygen allocation amid COVID-19 surge

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Saturday (May 8, 2021) set up a National Task Force which will assess the availability and distribution of medical oxygen across the country.

On Friday, the top court had ordered the setting up of the task force after calling for a revamp of the Centre's allocation of oxygen to different states. The 12-member panel has been named by the top court.

Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, in its order, constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to assess, recommend the need and distribution of oxygen for the entire country. pic.twitter.com/Bw0VSSHRgE — ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2021

The task force led by Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, the former Vice Chancellor of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences, will also suggest measures to ensure similarly rational and equitable availability of medicines needed to treat COVID-19.

The panel will provide inputs, based on members' scientific and specialised knowledge, to meet others challenges to have been raised by the pandemic.

The Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is among the 12 members while the Convenor of the National Task Force will be the Cabinet Secretary to the Centre.

Other members include leading doctors from Delhi hospitals, Vellore's Christian Medical College, Bengaluru's Narayana Healthcare and Mumbai's Fortis Hospital.

Here's the list of 12-panel members: 

1. Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, former Vice-Chancellor, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata
2. Dr Devender Singh Rana, Chairperson, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi
3. Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairperson and Executive Director, Narayana Healthcare, Bengaluru
4. Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
5. Dr JV Peter, Director, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
6. Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairperson and Managing Director, Medanta Hospital and Heart Institute, Gurugram
7. Dr Rahul Pandit, Director, Critical Care Medicine and ICU, Fortis Hospital, Mulund (Mumbai, Maharashtra) and Kalyan (Maharashtra)
8. Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairman and Head, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi
9. Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, Senior Professor and Head of Department of Hepatology, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS), Delhi
10. Dr Zarir F Udwadia, Consultant Chest Physician, Hinduja Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital and Parsee General Hospital, Mumbai
11. Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (ex officio member); and
12. The Convenor of the National Task Force, who shall also be a member, will be the Cabinet Secretary to the Union Government. The Cabinet Secretary may nominate an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to depute for him, when necessary.

Meanwhile, India reported over 4.01 lakh (4,01,078) fresh COVID-19 cases and 4,187 people succumbed to the deadly infection in the last 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities in a single day, as per the Union Health Ministry data on Saturday (May 8). The total caseload surpassed the 2.18-lakh mark (2,18,92,676), while the death count climbed to 2,38,270.