AAP demands 187 cryogenic tankers for Delhi

Delhi is not an industrial state. Even the high court has noted that. So we don’t have sufficient tankers. But several other states which have the tankers are learnt to have reserved it for themselves,” Raghav Chadha, AAP’s national spokesperson said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday urged the Union government to regulate the distribution of cryogenic tankers across the country – the way in which it regulates the supply of medical oxygen – and said that Delhi should be provided 187 tankers to meet its daily medical oxygen requirement.

Raghav Chadha, who is also a Delhi MLA, said, “Cryogenic tankers are now national assets.." (Photo by Amal KS/ Hindustan Times) (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

“India has 1,631 cryogenic tankers to transport total production of around 8,500 MT oxygen across the country. This the central government has told the Delhi high court. By our calculation, 1,631 tankers are capable of catering to transportation of 23,000 MT oxygen. So, there is no dearth of tankers in the country, but evidently a factor of mismanagement. Delhi is not an industrial state. Even the high court has noted that. So we don’t have sufficient tankers. But several other states which have the tankers are learnt to have reserved it for themselves,” Raghav Chadha, AAP’s national spokesperson said.

Chadha, who is also a Delhi MLA, further said, “Cryogenic tankers are now national assets. Central government regulating supply of oxygen in the country without regulating the distribution of tankers does not make sense. Tankers should also be distributed among states proportionally in accordance to their oxygen needs at a given point of time. We request the central government to regulate distribution of cryogenic tankers across the country and allot 187 tankers to Delhi.” The Delhi government, which asked for 700 metric tonne (MT) per day, now says its requirement has gone up to 976 MT.

Piyush Goyal, additional secretary in the home ministry, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the shortage of containers is the key problem and “production of oxygen is not a problem”, during a hearing on review petition by the Centre.