State, Centre disagree over oxygen supply guidelines

A day after the Maharashtra government directed industrial producers of oxygen to reserve 80% supply for medical and pharmaceutical purposes, the Central government issued an advisory against doing so, stating there is sufficient oxygen supply and the decision would affect the industrial and manufacturing sector

A day after the Maharashtra government directed industrial producers of oxygen to reserve 80% supply for medical and pharmaceutical purposes, the Central government issued an advisory against doing so, stating there is sufficient oxygen supply and the decision would affect the industrial and manufacturing sector.

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According to data accessed by HT, while the monthly consumption of medical oxygen in the country was around 2,675 metric tonnes in September 2020, it was around 1,459 in March 2021.

Guruprasad Mahapatra, secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India, said, “It is advisable not to cut down on supply to industry as long as there is no shortage in manufacturing and availability of oxygen, as that affects various industry sectors.” A note by the ministry also states that, “Overall, there is sufficient stock of medical oxygen in the country, and presently Maharashtra state is also picking up medical oxygen from Bhilai, Chattisgarh for Vidharbha and Nagpur region.”

It also states that the demand is “within expectations” and “much lower than the daily oxygen offtake that took place in September 2020.”

In its notification ‘Break the Chain’ released on Sunday, Maharashtra government stated that all industrial producers of oxygen should reserve 80% of their production (actual as well as capacity) for medical and pharmaceutical purposes. It also stated that “any industrial profess that is a net consumer of oxygen as a raw material is to be disallowed by default from April 10, 2021 onwards.”

If industries are desirous of carrying out such a process, then they will have to seek permission, the notification states.

In September 2020, industrial units across Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad faced acute shortage of oxygen for industrial purposes.

Sitaram Kunte, Maharashtra chief secretary, said, “Maharashtra has an installed capacity of 1200 MT, while the production is around 1050 MT. We are already utilising 650 MT of oxygen supply for close to 25,000 cases and the demand is only expected to go up in the coming days as cases increase. We have already conveyed to the ministry that we have to reserve 80% of the supply.”