The Supreme Court has put in place a 12-member National Task Force (NTF), including top experts and doctors from across the country, “to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge”.
The task force consists of 10 doctors and the convener of the task force will be the cabinet secretary to the Centre. The secretary to the health ministry is also part of the 12-member committee formed by the Supreme Court.
The 12 member panel includes –
Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, former vice-chancellor, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata.
Dr Devender Singh Rana, chairperson, board of management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.
Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, chairperson and executive director, Narayana Healthcare, Bengaluru.
Dr Gagandeep Kang, professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
Dr JV Peter, director, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
Dr Naresh Trehan, chairperson and managing director, Medanta Hospital and Heart Institute, Gurugram.
Dr Rahul Pandit, director, critical care medicine and ICU, Fortis Hospital, Mulund (Mumbai, Maharashtra) and Kalyan (Maharashtra).
Dr Saumitra Rawat, chairman and head, department of surgical gastroenterology and liver transplant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.
Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, senior professor and head of department of Hepatology, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS), Delhi.
Dr Zarir F Udwadia, consultant chest physician, Hinduja Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital and Parsee General Hospital, Mumbai. Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (ex officio member). The Convenor of the National Task Force, who shall also be a member, will be the Cabinet Secretary to the Union Government to the task force.
The court said that leading experts shall associate themselves with the task force, as members and resource persons, to facilitate the formulation of scientific strategies to deal with public health response, including the supply of oxygen and essential drugs, based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge.
The NTF will enable the decision makers to have inputs which go beyond finding ad hoc solutions to the current problems, the judges said in a 24-page order released on Saturday.
“We expect that the leading experts in the country shall associate with the work of the Task Force both as members and resource persons. This will facilitate a meeting of minds and the formulation of scientific strategies to deal with an unprecedented human crisis,” the court explained.
According to the Bench, the setting up NTF will enable the decision makers to have inputs which go beyond finding ad-hoc solutions to the present problems.
