Dimapur, March 27 (MExN): There are strong indications that spurious and untested drugs/medications were supplied to patients and health centers across the state by the Nagaland Health & Family Welfare department over the period of 6 years i.e., 2001-2006. The health department also, rather than stick to procedures, procured medicines and drugs worth Rs. 15.18 Crore from various unauthorized dealers and local distributors, without observing codal formalities.
Relatively, a whopping unspent amount of Rs 91.72 Crore from the 2001-2006 sanction is missing while about Rs. 46 lakhs worth of medicines to Dimapur and Mokokchung civil hospitals were either not received or were short to the tune of Rs 31.85 lakhs.
In a shocking report, the Comptroller & Auditor General of India in its audit covering the period 2001-2006 highlighted that the Nagaland health department did not ensure supply of quality-tested drugs. This directive to test drugs is mandatory and for this Drug-Testing laboratories should have been established but the government failed to do this. All categories of drug samples are also expected to be dispatched to Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Kolkata, Regional Drugs laboratory (RDL) in Guwahati and Pharmacopeia Drugs laboratory in Ghaziabad for quality testing. However, Nagaland failed to do this needful over the period of the audit covering 6 years, the CAG pointed out. Further, stock registers maintained in Central Medical Stores in Kohima did not indicate crucial details like batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates of medicines purchased etc. The CAG has not ruled out the possibility of exposing health patients to the risk of consuming substandard/spurious/untested drugs.
The audit also revealed that against the provision of Rs 177.77 Crore allocated during 2001-2006, the department spent Rs. 86.05 Crore while the ‘saved’ or unspent amount of Rs 91.72 Crore were neither stated nor entered in record.
In regard to non/short receipt of medicines by field units, cross verification of records have established that respective Central Medical Stores of Directorate of Medical Services (DMS) and Directorate of Health Services (DHS) had issued medicines worth about Rs 46 lakhs (DMS-Rs 25.29 lakhs and DHS-Rs 20.04 lakhs) between July 2001 and March 2006. This issue to Dimapur and Mokokchung civil hospitals were found either short or not received to the tune of Rs 31.85 lakhs worth. Till date 5 field units have not received the stated quantity of medicines. The CAG has observed that there may be fraud and embezzlement of the money adding that the department did not have any internal control mechanism to check this.
Other ‘potholes’ mentioned by the CAG include establishment of bogus, non-existent health centers, short/non-receipt of medical equipments for field units and “unnecessary and unfruitful expenditure.” The CAG observed that the aim of providing basic health services to the people remains a “distant dream” since there is no mechanism for checking the quality of medicines procured, and that these are procured from unauthorized suppliers.
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