The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that foreign aid, in terms of medical equipment, is meant for the benefit of the people suffering from COVID-19 and not meant to be kept in boxes at some institution to become "junk".
"When the government has received it as medical aid, it is meant to help the people. It is not meant to remain in boxes somewhere and become junk," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said.
The observation came after amicus curiae and senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao expressed concerns regarding the manner of distribution of the medical equipment, received as aid, by the Centre and Delhi government.
He said that Lady Hardinge Medical College received around 260 oxygen concentrators when it did not require that much.
He said that such random and arbitrary distribution of the equipment may lead to a situation where it is not sent to the right quarters which actually need it.
The bench said the concern expressed by the amicus "deserves consideration" and directed the Centre to verify the position on the ground with regard to distribution of foreign aid to various hospitals.
The court also asked the Centre to consider distributing the equipment to voluntary organisations, like Gurdwaras and NGOs, who are rendering public service.
"One must not forget that the equipment received as foreign aid is meant for the people and, therefore, should be available to them. No purpose would be served by them remaining stacked in boxes in some institution and not being available for use where they are most required," the bench said.
Towards the conclusion of the first half of the day's hearing, the central government told the bench that it will provide to the amicus the standard operating procedure (SOP) evolved by it for distribution of the foreign aid.
Delhi High Court Refers Dispute Between BharatPe, Ashneer Grover To Arbitration Puja Khedkar's Fraud Not Only Against Us But Public Too: UPSC To Court Give Interest On Delayed Compensation Payment To 1984 Riot Victim, Centre Told Why NASA Picked Elon Musk's SpaceX To Bring Back Astronauts From Space Matched On App, Scammed At Cafe: Mumbai Man Pays Rs 61,000 On Fraud Date "Will Benefit 23 Lakh Employees": Centre Launches Unified Pension Scheme Why Boeing's Starliner Will Return To Earth Without Sunita Williams "No Hindus Have Entered India from Bangladesh, But...": Himanta Sarma Who Is Pavel Durov, Telegram CEO Arrested In France Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.