SHILLONG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has taken note of the “wasteful expenditure” incurred on the procurement of equipment by the Health Department, which have remained unutilised for the last 15 years in Shillong Civil Hospital.
Chairman of the PAC, Charles Pyngrope referred to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India regarding Health and Family Welfare department on the wasteful expenditure on procurement of surgical equipment for the year ended March 31, 2010.
He informed that the report clearly showed the procurement of a machine called arthroscope which is used by the orthopaedic surgeries to diagnose the deficiency of the bones and joints.
The machine was procured at the cost Rs 21.32 lakhs in 2003 and it had not been utilised or made operational till date, he said.
He said the PAC had asked the Health Department to submit a report immediately as to what measures the department would take to ensure such irregularities are not repeated and also to ensure that this machine is put in place.
Elaborating further, PAC member, HM Shangpliang said, “The machine (arthroscope) has been lying idle in the Civil Hospital for the last 15 years.”
The PAC members were informed by the Health Department officials that there was no trained manpower to man the arthroscope which was bought at Rs 21 lakhs.
“When the PAC enquired on how and who in the department procured the machine, they do not have any details on the procurement process also,” Shangpliang said.
The PAC members were baffled to learn that the farm that supplied/manufactures the machine no longer existed.
“They said there were just four quotations submitted at the point of time by a particular farm and that farm also winded up. This is heights of irregularity in the Health Department,” Shangpliang remarked.
“The PAC has given a strong directive to the Health Department that they should get the machine rectified or repaired and then report back to the PAC at the earliest possible,” he replied.
On enquiry by the PAC on why the machine was required, the officials said the machine was required to be kept in the trauma center of the Shillong Civil Hospital.
Interestingly, the Health Department informed the PAC that there was no trauma center per se in the state which was contradicted by the PAC when it informed that there was a sanction from the Ministry to open three trauma centers-one in Shillong, one in Tura and one in Nongpoh.
Shangpliang said, “On that note the Health Department replied that the Tura trauma center is under process of tendering whereas Nongpoh and Shillong have not started yet.”
The PAC directed the Health Department to set up the trauma centers immediately and the money sanctioned by the Government of India has to be spent at the earliest since the sanction was made as late as 2016.
The Health Department informed the PAC that it did not have a bio-medical engineer to man the machines procured by the department.
“It is sad to note that such a big department has not found one bio-medical engineer in this whole state. I reminded them of the sanction from the Ministry for appointing one bio-medical engineer,” Shangpliang said.
The PAC has given a direction that one biomedical engineer or may two, should be appointed immediately be it on a regular basis or on a contractual basis to repair and man all the machines that the department procures.