Equipment lying unused in govt hospital

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

Medical equipment, which were procured by using crores of rupees by CMOs, is lying unused in government hospitals across the state. It has revealed in departmental audit report. They pointed that equipment worth Rs 3.6 lakh was procured by the authorities of BD Pandey, women’s hospital in Nainital but for nine years it is lying unused.

A sum of Rs 1.43 crore was spent on purchasing equipment for BD Pandey District Hospital Nainital, but it was lying idle, instead of being put to use for the benefit of the patients.

Similarly, out of Rs 20 lakh sanctioned to the PWD (Nainital) for constructing residential units for medical officers, a sum of Rs 13.19 lakh remained unutilised for more than a year in 2009. During 2014-2015 the Chief Medical Officer (CMO Nainital) was found to have erred in calculating the promotional benefits to Senior Medical Officer JS Bisht. The audit has recommended recovery from the officer.

It has revealed that wasteful expenditure in which orders were placed for procuring machines which have not been put to use, said the audit report for the period 2011-2015, for Chief Medical officer of Dehradun district.

The report says that under the district plan barring 2011-2012, the tenders were not invited for procuring equipment, medicines and other utility objects for hospitals. As a result, procurement rules were violated and financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 219.15 lakh have come to light. Similarly, in 2013-2014, Rs 10.89 lakh was paid to a Dharampur (Dehradun)-based Tour and Travels operator, which could not be accounted for.

Financial irregularities were also detected in the audit undertaken during 2013-2014 for the district hospital, Ramnagar, in which a private company Rishabh enterprise Dehradun was allegedly paid Rs 38,395 in excess while procuring medicines. The audit noted that a sum or Rs 95,237 collected as user charge from the hospital was spent in sprucing up the offices.