HC orders Saibaba Trust to start oxygen plant, dist collector asked to submit report of medicines and machinery

Aurangabad, April 20

The Saibaba Sansthan Trust in Shirdi has been ordered to set up a new RT-PCR laboratory and oxygen plant on war footing and supply excess oxygen to government hospitals across the district.

Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court comprising justices S V Gangapurwala and S D Kulkarni has issued an order in this regard on Tuesday.

Also, the district collector should immediately submit a report to the government on medicines and machinery required by various hospitals in Ahmednagar district. The bench also directed the government to provide medicines and machinery to these hospitals at reasonable rates.

The PIL was filed through Satish Talekar by Adv Sanjay Kale, a social activist from Kopargaon.

An ad hoc committee comprising chief district judge of Ahmednagar, chief executive officer of Saibaba Sansthan, additional divisional commissioner of Nashik and joint charity commissioner of Ahmednagar is taking policy and financial decisions with the permission of the high court.

The petitioner and Sandeep Kulkarni had written to this ad hoc committee to take immediate action on the above issue.

The civil application was heard on Tuesday. The bench also directed that the laboratory should be used as a pathological lab in future. Some of expert doctors of the institute have also undergone on-the-job training in RT-PCR laboratory, the institute said.

The bench also directed to immediately fill up vacant posts of doctors and nurses and procure medicines required from private companies without any tender process.

Adv Pragya Talekar and Ajinkya Kale appeared for the petitioners and Adv S G Karlekar and Adv Anil Bajaj represented the institute.