Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday backpedalled on his earlier decision to supply ‘excess’ oxygen to neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM lamented that owing to the rising cases in the state, more oxygen would be required.
The medical oxygen requirement is on the rise due to the high level of oxygen dependant active COVID-19 cases and there is hence a need to ensure adequate oxygen availability in Tamil Nadu, he said. The state government is making all efforts to reduce the positive cases but considering the current trends, TN would require 450 MTs (Metric Tonnes) shortly. And, it would be more than the state’s production capacity of 400 MTs, the CM said in the letter
However, the CM’s statement of TN requiring 450 MT oxygen contradicts the statement made by his advocate general in the Madras High court last week. During the court hearing, the AG Vijay Narayanan had informed that Tamil Nadu was in a comfortable position to divert the oxygen supplies to neighbouring states. Moreover, Narayanan claimed that 1,167 MT oxygen was available against the 400 MT as remarked by Palaniswami in his letter to the PM.
“As many as 550 MTs of oxygen was being produced in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry per day and there were 1,167 MTs of it available against the demand of 250 MTs. The assignment of oxygen to Andhra and Telangana would not affect the comfortable position of manufacture and supply of the material in Tamil Nadu,” Narayanan had said.
The flipping of the Palaniswami government on its own decision within a few days has raised eyebrows across the country. And once again, the focus has shifted on the Sterlite copper plant, which had the capacity to produce sufficient oxygen for Tamil Nadu as well as neighbouring states, only if it wasn’t closed by the leftist cabal in close cooperation with the foreign-funded NGOs.
As reported by TFI, the Vedanta Group which owns the shuttered Thoothukudi plant had offered to help the government with oxygen woes and bridge the supply crisis that the nation is facing amidst a steep surge in COVID-19 cases. The company has written separate letters to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary regarding its offer.
Read more: Sterlite could have ended India’s oxygen woes but leftist goons shut it down
The Thoothukudi plant has two oxygen plants with a combined capacity to produce 1,050 tonnes of oxygen per day. In the letter, Pankaj Kumar, CEO, Sterlite Copper, had said, “We would like to now offer these facilities for your use towards ensuring that there is no lack of this vital commodity in the nation.”
The cases are rising in TN and it is perfectly understandable that the state CM wants to cover his bases before the situation worsens. However, the state CM should not have thumped his chest in the High Court when he was asked about supplying the oxygen to AP and Telangana, citing his government had enough stock. Moreover, the clear contradiction in the numbers of the CM and the AG needs to be corrected as well.
