Tribune News ServiceCHANDIGARH,
Jan 18 The PGI Employees Union in a memorandum to the Director, Prof S.K. Sharma, has alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines and surgical items for patients and staff by the Medical Superintendent office of the institute.
Dr A.K. Gupta, Medical Superintendent, while speaking to Chandigarh Tribune here today, however, denied the charges and said that all purchases made by the institute were part of a foolproof system. He said that the MS office was not directly involved in the procurement of any medicinal or non-medicinal items.
As per the memorandum, which is addressed to Mr N. Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Government of India, the union alleged that the MS office was making local purchases far beyond the actual limit of 5 per cent, flouting rules and regulations of the institute. Besides, the authorities concerned were also floating tenders for lesser quantities of medicines so that these could be purchased locally.
Dr Gupta, calling these allegations as fabrication of an over-imaginative mind, said that all the purchases were made under a long procedure involving various stages and individuals. In fact, no single person has the authority to spend money arbitrarily, he stressed.
Giving details about the purchase procedure followed by the institute, Dr Gupta said that the PGI made two types of purchases medicine and non-medicine.
All purchases are made through tenders which are first scrutinised by the Specifications and Evaluation Committee. The committee is headed by a senior professor and includes senior faculty members, besides members of the Accounts Department. All major purchases require approval by the Standing Purchase Committee which, besides other members, includes the Director and the Financial Adviser. In any case, each purchase is made by the purchase officer who works directly under the Joint MS and only with a clean chit from the accounts office, he added.
The memorandum states that dispensary has been making local purchase of medicines worth as much as Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 to which it is not entitled. The union asserts that not only are the medicines substandard but are purchased by brand names and not generic names. This means an extra burden on the PGI as brand names of the generic medicines of the same composition may cost more.
According to sources, the PGI Director has already asked the Vigilance Department to conduct an inquiry into the contract of purchase of medicines and surgical items during the past couple of months. However, since he was out of station he could not be contacted for his remarks.
The union has also alleged a nexus of the procurement section, the dispensary and chemists. But Dr Gupta denied any such practice and said that a company which passed rigid quality control measures set by the institute and quoted the maximum discount, got the contract.
