Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar was responding to a question on the number of fatalities due to oxygen shortage during the lockdown in the last one year and whether all the states have submitted data regarding death due to oxygen shortage
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Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that a few states and Union territories had responded to the Centre's request for data and none reported death due to oxygen shortage during lockdown in the last one year.
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She was responding to a question on the number of fatalities due to oxygen shortage during the lockdown in the last one year and whether all the states have submitted data regarding death due to oxygen shortage.
Pawar informed the House that health is a state subject but the Government of India has maintained data of total cases and deaths reported by states and Union Territories on a regular basis.
Accordingly, the Union government requested states and Union Territories to furnish the details as asked for. "Few states and Union Territories have responded and none of the state and UT has reported death due to oxygen shortage," she said in the written reply.
On whether the government plans to compensate the families of Covid victim, Pawar said in pursuance of the Supreme Court's judgment on June 30, 2021, the Government of India through National Disaster Management Authority has issued 'Guidelines to provide ex gratia assistance to the kin of the deceased by COVID-19'. The NDMA has recommended Rs 50,000 per deceased, subject to the cause of death certified as COVID-19. The ex gratia assistance provided by states from State Disaster Response Funds, she said.
To address the surge in demand for oxygen, the Centre initiated measures to increase the availability, streamline the distribution and strengthen oxygen storage infrastructure in the country, the minister said.
Oxygen availability has been enhanced by increasing production capacity, setting up of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Plants, import of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), and procurement of oxygen concentrators. For improving oxygen storage, the number and capacity of cryogenic tankers at hospitals have been enhanced and medical oxygen cylinders have been procured and distributed to states and Union Territories, the minister said.
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