Nexus between Ex-Health ministers, medical suppliers exposed
VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: A major fraud was detected between politicians and the medical equipment suppliers when State Vigilance Organisation found an old and refurbished CT scan spiral machine installed at the Government Medical College Hospital Jammu under PPP mode in violation of all rules in 2014.
The allotment of the contract was reached during tenure of a Congress minister and the procurement was made when the ministry was headed by a BJP minister. In this process, a Pune based company Krsna Diagnostics turned out to be a beneficiary, which allegedly fleeced poor patients by charging hefty amount for diagnostic tests.
After a series of complaints about higher charges and consequent to a report of State Vigilance Organistion to the government, the Principal GMC ordered the closure of the facility.
However, STATE TIMES has got access to a letter, exposing another fraud wherein an old CT machine was installed at GMC Jammu in 2014 by Krsna Diagnostics, Pune.
A new CT 128 slice machine, costing between Rs 6 crore and Rs 8 crore whereas the Krsna Diagnostics Pvt Ltd imported the machine in J&K by paying entry tax of paltry Rs 15, 48, 973 which put the cost of machine to around Rs 1.14 crore, an impossibility.
Eyebrows are being raised as to how the installation of an old and refurbished machine was allowed in the GMC against all norms. From the available records, it also came to fore that the allotment was not made in a transparent manner and the contract was made on the basis of single quarter.
As per GR No: 970439 of May 24 , 2014 of Check Post Lakhanpur the consignee was shown as Lokmanya Hospital Store Delhi. “It is well established fact that Lokmanya Hospital Store Delhi cannot be manufacturer of the CT scan machine which makes it clear that an old machine was procured from Lokmanya Hospital after refurbishing/repairing the same was installed at GMC Jammu”, according to an insider.
The State Vigilance Organisation has also suggested to the government to review the PPP contract in case of CT scan installation.
Here it is relevant to mention that in 2014 when the PPP mode contract was allotted to Krsna Diagnostics, the Medical Teachers’ Forum stood against the Congress minister’s orders for the purchase of medical equipments and installation of CT scan on PPP mode by violating all the rules.
