New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it expects the Lieutenant Governor to look into and take a decision at the earliest on the issue of giving approval for additional staff relating to a dedicated COVID-19 facility at the 1,241-bed Indira Gandhi Hospital so that its functioning is not hampered.

The high court listed the matter on February 1 next year for reporting further progress.

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"We hope and expect that the LG will look into the same to take a decision at the earliest considering the requirement of hospital and so that the functioning is not hampered,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.

The bench said it appeared that the Delhi government was making an endeavour to stick to the timelines, regarding completion of project, placed before the court earlier.

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It also said that the government must make an endeavour to make the super speciality facilities functional in the hospital by March next year, instead of July.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, said that out of 3,059 posts, the LG has granted approval for 1,204 posts of staff and a fresh proposal has been submitted to the L-G for 1,855 more posts.

He also said that 1,241 beds have been made functional in the wards and civil electrical work has also been completed and that the task of installation of oxygen pipelines for those beds, which were to be completed by October, has been done.

The court was hearing a plea by the Dwarka Court Bar Association, through advocate Y P Singh, seeking to make operational Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, which has been under construction for the last eight years and is near completion now.

The high court had earlier directed the Principal Secretary (Home) of the Delhi government to monitor on weekly basis the progress made in the completion work of the 1,241-bed Indira Gandhi Hospital, which will be a COVID-19 dedicated hospital, and take appropriate disciplinary action against those found guilty of any lapse or negligence.

It had noted that the initial date of completion of the hospital project in Dwarka was February 2017 and thereafter, the bed capacity was increased from 700 to 1,241 and the revised completion date was in September 2019 and it is yet to be completed.

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