Sources said the vehicles are being denied fuel at petrol pumps due to non-payment of over Rs 45 lakh.
Fuel shortage has halted government ambulances in the Capital with nearly 130 vehicles not plying and another 50 declared unfit to be on the roads, crippling the emergency medical service that has a fleet of 265 vehicles.
Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS), run by the Delhi government, is the backbone of medical emergencies, especially in providing quick relief to accident victims.
Sources said the vehicles are being denied fuel at petrol pumps due to non-payment of over Rs 45 lakh.
The private company handling ambulance services has not been able to pay a designated petrol pump, resulting in refusal to refuelling.
The designated fuel stations that the ambulances can use are directly paid by a private agency - Bharat Vikas Group (BVG). Once the agency makes the payment to these fuel stations, the ambulances just go there for a refill.
"We have Rs 40 crore outstanding from CATS (Delhi government). The case regarding this is in arbitration. CATS illegally retained our money and now we are left with no money to pay for fuel or salaries," said Dr Nivedita Patnaik, Manager of Operations, BVG Company.
"This is the reason why there is a delay in the payment of salaries. For now, we have arranged money from other sources and the ambulances will be back on the city roads soon," she said.
Anil Chhillar, Para-Medical Staff Head, West Zone, CATS, says that the drivers are facing difficulties in attending to emergency calls.
"These petrol pumps are not being paid by the agency. On September 16, we got calls from Shalimar Bagh while we were in Jehangir Puri. Both are far from each other and we did not have enough fuel in the vehicles. Since we cannot say no, eventually, ambulances were sent from other locations, which took longer time to reach than usual," he said.
Chillar says people have to wait for hours at to get an ambulance.
"I do not know of any such issue faced by the CATS ambulances or its staff. Everything is working fine and the ambulances are plying on road," said a senior official in CATS.
Other Delhi government officials contacted by DNA declined to comment.
Narendra Lakra, CATS union head, said, "When we get emergency calls, we should not be worried about fuel in the car, that's the last thing para-medical staff should bother about."
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