A couple of months after Gujarat Government freezed the account of an NGO associated with Jignesh Mevani, the independent MLA from Vadgam on Saturday inaugurated an oxygen plant in Chhapi village of Banaskantha district.
The plant, having a capacity to refill 800 jumbo cylinders per day, has been set up at a cost of Rs 1 crore. The plant is considered to be the largest in Gujarat.
Mevani donated Rs 1 crore from his MLA grant to set up the plant.
This was possible after lawyer Anand Yagnik moved a petition in the Gujarat High Court requesting that elected representatives be allowed to use their funds to set up oxygen plants.
Mevani told THE WEEK that he decided to use his grant for the purpose after the account of an NGO set up to help in the cause was frozen by the Gujarat government. Mevani alleged that this was done after a complaint that the fund was being used for “dubious” work. The lawmaker asked how that could be possible when not a single penny was withdrawn.
The account had Rs 35 lakh in it. Mevani said that the money would be used for public cause whenever they could withdraw it.
They had started getting donations from across the country and Mevani was also seen on the roads collecting funds.
At a function organized at Chhapi, Mevani alleged that India had failed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it is strange that in the Parliament statements are being made that not a single person has died due to oxygen shortage.
Quoting global experts, Mevani claimed that 45-55 lakh people had died in India due to COVID-19.
The MLA said that about 20 to 25 days during the second wave, he witnessed people of all strata of the society seeking oxygen beds and ICU beds in Gujarat.
“We saw bodies floating in Ganga. I hope this does not happen again,” he said, adding that the oxygen plant has been set up with a hope that COVID-19 third wave does not come and nobody requires oxygen.
He also demanded that the budgetary allocation in education and health should be doubled.
Mevani remarked that the Statue of Unity has been built in the name of Sardar Patel at a cost of Rs 3300 crore, but now hospitals should be set up in each of the districts, with each hospital costing Rs 100 crore.
