Thursday, March 15, 2012

700 Cr NRHM are Plundered in Jammu and Kashmir

Funds to the tune of ` 4.37 Crore were separately released and transferred electronically to Director of Health Services Jammu (DHJ) and Director of Health Services Kashmir (DHK) for purchase of the drug kits for thousands of health institutions and ASHA workers in Jammu and Kashmir, in 2010-11. 

While as the process progressed 'smoothly' in Jammu, hiccups came up in Srinagar. Head of the Srinagar-based Purchase Committee and then Principal of Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Shahida Mir, refused to be part of the NRHM loot-and-scoot. 

Vide his letter No: DHSK/Kits/2010-11/1775-77 dated 12-01-2010, Dr Amin Wani asked the Purchase Committee in Srinagar to assess and approve the rates for the supplies. After a meeting, Srinagar-based Purchase Committee communicated its decision to DHK through its Member-Secretary, vide No: PS/AIJ/MCS/1847-48 dated 25-01-2011. It reads: "It was unanimously decided that in view of the guidelines referred to in the letter from Govt of India, Mission Director National Rural Health Mission can purchase the drugs as per rules".

As per verbal instructions from the top, the handpicked incharge DHJ, Dr Ashok Sharma, constituted an 'Experts Committee' for processing the tenders and approving the rates. It comprised Dr Subhash Bhagat, Deputy Director Headquarters at Directorate of Health Services Jammu, Dr HL Sharma, Controller of Stores in Jammu, Dr Sham Gopal, District Nutrition Officer, and Bhushan Anand, Assistant Accounts Officer at DHS Jammu. 

The committee shut its eyes completely to the key factors of suspicion. Without raising a question, its members observed that all the four tenders of the CPSEs had been filled up by one individual with no change in any of the rates. All the four were noticed to have quoted the rate of ` 1878 for 4,000 ASHA Kits to be purchased for Jammu division for the year 2010-11. Drug kits of same specifications had been purchased by the department at ` 931, just a year back in 2009-10. 

Without any changes or negotiations, supplies were distributed equally among the four CPSE bidders. Their identically quoted rate of ` 1,878 each kit was allotted for all the 4,000 ASHA drug kits, causing huge loss to the State exchequer. Nearly 100% increase in rates of all the items was allowed and approved without questioning.

For the supplies in Jammu division, the bidders identically quoted ` 1,878 for each of 4,000 ASHA kits. They also quoted ` 6,559 for each of the 968 Sub Center-A kits, ` 4,368 for each of 968 Sub Center-B kit, ` 54,929 for each of 162 PHC drug kits, ` 60,832 for each of 30 RTI/STI drug kits, ` 2,77,818 for each of 28 FRU kits, `98,919 for each of 35 CHC drug kits and ` 46,826 for each of 162 drug kits for the sick newborn babies.

Tenders for Jammu were received on 12-01-2011 and opened on 19-01-2011. Within one hour, DHJ approved the Rate Contract No: DHS/J/1442-44 dated 19-01-2011 without any change or negotiations. Though the Rate Contract was approved within one hour, 11 days were spent in holding "secret dealings" with the suppliers and officials associated with the process. Interestingly, one of the conditions in the supply orders made it incumbent upon the firms to give a written undertaking that "no middleman commission has been paid in between". 

In this particular case, middlemen and the apparently invisible top men have enjoyed a field day. As established by VOJ, the level of confidence has been so high that only one person has collected all the payment cheques and deposited the same with different banks. Hefty 'commissions' went to the men at the helm of affairs and their relatives and cronies. Under pressure from certain quarters, VOJ has not yet touched the main underhand fixer, Ashok Sharma alias Bitta S/o Gyan Chand, who is unfazed by the investigation and has been operating his pharmaceutical business in Jammu. 

Subsequently, DHJ's supply order No: DHS/J/1668 dated 02-02-2011 went to M/S Hindustan Antibiotic Chandigarh, supply order No: DHS/J/1674-80 dated 02-02-2011 to M/S Karnataka Antibiotic & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, supply order No: DHS/J/1681-87 dated 02-02-2011 to M/S Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceuticals Ltd and supply order No: DHS/J/1688-94 dated 02-02-2011 to M/S Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. As the allotted rates were hiked by over 100%, quantities doubled when supplies of Kashmir division were clubbed with those of Jammu division. 

Comptroller of Stores (Health) Jammu received the supplies from Hindustan Antibiotics on 17-04-2011, from Rajasthan Drugs on 18-04-2011, from Karnataka Antibiotics on 25-04-2011 and from Bengal Chemicals on 12-05-2011. Supplies made by the first three firms were entered into the stock register on 27-04-2011 and those of the fourth one on 25-05-2011. The supplies have been quickly shown to have further gone to the health centers. 

In criminal violation of the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, officials of Sham Lal Sharma's departments actually purchased the spurious and sub standard drugs manufactured by dubiously operating firms and only packaged by the CPSEs in their labeled drug kits. This part, according to well-placed authoritative sources, has been fairly investigated by VOJ and the crime has been established. 

However, for reasons not known to anybody, VOJ has not till date bothered to send the samples for necessary quality and standard check to FSLs. Consequently, these supplies are being consumed by thousands of people in Jammu, including sick newborn babies, at grave risk of life. 

Surprisingly, even the Commissioner-Secretary Health and Medical Education, Ghulam Ahmad Pir---otherwise known for his competence and integrity--- has also shut his eyes to this brazen loot in NRHM and circulation of substandard drugs manufactured by unknown and unregistered firms. The substandard supplies have already endangered thousands of human lives in the State. Government of India's guidelines regarding Purchase Preference Policy clearly mention that "items should be manufactured by the firms" getting the benefit of the policy. In this case of supplies to J&K, CPSEs have manufactured just few of the drugs and packaged the kits with the spurious drugs manufactured by dubiously operating private firms.

Notwithstanding the 'lukewarm response' of the Srinagar-based Purchasing Committee, Ministry of Health managed to set the process rolling first through then retiring DHK Dr Amin Wani and later through the new handpicked incharge DHK, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman. Even as SVO, allegedly under pressure from an influential political coterie, has excluded most of the key accused, including Directors of Health Services in Kashmir and Mission Director NRHM, sources insist that the supplies for Kashmir division too were procured from the same CPSEs. There too, cheques of various payments of all the four CPSEs have been handed over to just one middleman, who has been identified in the VOJ investigation in Jammu as Anil Lahoti and booked by name in FIR No: 19 of 2011 dated 16-09-2011.

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