Bombay HC directs Shirdi Sansthan to set up testing lab, oxygen plant

The Bombay High Court has ordered the Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan to set up a new COVID testing laboratory and oxygen production plant amid the shortage of COVID essentials in the state. The Sansthan has to comply with all the legal requirements and seek permission from concerned authorities for the establishment of the laboratory.

Mumbai:In the wake of increasing Covid cases in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court has ordered Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan to set up a new Covid testing laboratory and oxygen production plant to help meet the demand for oxygen. The court also instructed the administration to provide oxygen to government hospitals in Aurangabad district on a war footing.

Pronouncing the order, the bench comprising Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice S D Kulkarni granted permission to Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan to set up a laboratory. The lab will be set up at the cost of Rs 1.05 crore where Covid and other pathological tests will be conducted.

While hearing the public interest litigation submitted by Sanjay Kale, the court ordered the Sansthan to follow due procedures to set up the lab. Through the PIL, Kale urged that Bhakti Niwas and other complexes of the temple trust should be converted into a well-equipped hospital.

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The government of Maharashtra argued that the trust has already designated buildings for Covid-19 patients where they are being taken care of. About 520 beds are available for patients in these buildings.

The state government also told the court that the Sansthan had recruited nurses and other staff and also doctors. As per the agreement, if permission is denied for filling vacancies, nurses and doctors cannot be appointed further. Some employees are already designated with the work of conducting RT-PCR tests.

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The PIL sought medicine and other facilities for Covid patients from the Sansthan.

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