CAG detects irregularities in Nagaland Health Dept

Kohima, Mar 29 (UNI) The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) have detected anomalies in the Nagaland Health and Family Welfare Department.

The annual CAG report on Nagaland for the year 2005-2006, which was tabled in the current Budget session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, revealed that under Health Care Service, payment of Rs 4.80 crore was made without equipment being received.

The report also revealed the department had not taken any bank guarantee to secure proceed from the suppliers besides failing to initiate any action against the firm.

''The state incurred a loss of interest since it has resorted to borrowing to finance expenditure on purchase of equipment,'' the report said.

The department also could not avail discounts of Rs 2.43 crore due to purchase of medicines from unauthorised suppliers, the report disclosed and stated para 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order,1995 provides that a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler shall sell the formulation(medicines) to retailers at a discount of 16 per cent thereof in the case of scheduled drugs.

The department, instead of purchasing through the authorised distributors, procured medicines of Rs 15.18 crore during 2001-06 from various unauthorised local farms without observing codal formalities resulting in non-availment of discount of Rs 2.43 crores.

It is suspected that such procurement was made at the instruction of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

Another startling point in the report was that the medicines were distributed without carrying out any quality testing, though testing is mandatory. Since there were no drug testing laboratory in the state, all categories of drug samples were to be sent to CDL, Kolkata, RDL, Guwahati and Pharmacopeia Drugs Laboratory, Ghaziabad for quality testing.

It also noted that during the period covered by audit, no drug samples were sent for testing and the stock registers maintained at the Central Medical Stores, Kohima, did not indicate the crucial details such as batch numbers, manufacturing and expiry dates of medicines. Therefore, the possibility of exposing the patients to the risk of consuming sub-standard or spurious cannot be ruled out.

Further, it disclosed that Rs 11.17 crore spent did not give fruitful results due to non-completion of Regional Diagnostic Centre at Tuensang and up-gradation of Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima, the report added.

UNI