Health Dept on Vigilance radar for misuse of Central funds

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, August 31

The Health Department here has come under the vigilance scanner with sleuths seeking records pertaining to grants given by the Central Government from April 2021 to run schemes like the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) and some other initiatives of National Health Mission (NHM).

All these are schemes of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Grants are provided by the Union Government to the state governments to run these schemes.

On August 13, DSP, Vigilance Bureau (VB), Gurdaspur, had written a letter to the Civil Surgeon (CS) asking him to supply the information within six days. The details pertaining to all the three schemes and also the record relating to payments made to supplier RV Enterprises have been provided to the Vigilance Bureau. Relevant bank statements have also been handed over to the agency.

A VB spokesman said the probe report is in the process of being finalised. “We are on the job and hope to complete the probe by the middle of September,” he said.

Earlier, the VB had written two letters to the Civil Surgeon seeking the information. However, both these letters went unheeded and the health officials gave the records only when the VB sent them a third reminder on August 13.

The action comes after the VB received an anonymous complaint.

A departmental inquiry of the state health department is already going on against the Gurdaspur unit under the chairmanship of Managing Director, NHM.

The pensions of former Civil Surgeons Dr Harbhajan Ram Mandy and Dr Vijay have been put on hold pending the outcome of the departmental inquiry. When contacted, incumbent Civil Surgeon Dr Bharat Bhushan said he was unaware of the vigilance inquiry as he had joined just a few days ago. “I have just joined. Hence, I have little or no information of what is going on,” he said.

“For the last several months, rumours of financial misdemeanors have been floating around. The Health Department has become a fountainhead of corruption. The department is run on the taxpayers’ money. Hence, people have the right to know where their hard earned money is going. The VB probe will finally get rid of the moles and warts in the system,” said a government doctor.