SHILLONG, June 8: The Meghalaya government has been unable to select a new operator for 108 ambulance services in the state.
The contract with GVK EMRI ended on March 31, 2021, after which the company was granted a one-year extension, followed by another six-month extension, before operations were finally withdrawn. Since then, the National Health Mission Meghalaya has been managing the ambulance services. At least three to four attempts have been made to invite bids for running the operations, but each time, various issues cropped up.
An official from the Health department said that the tendering process has recently restarted, and one round of discussions has been held with interested bidders, adding that bidders have raised multiple queries, to which the department is currently responding. “If everything goes smoothly, the tendering process may be completed within the next one to two months,” the sources said.
A few years ago, the state government had floated a tender for the operation of 108 ambulance services, but a clause mentioning radio taxis sparked concerns. Many stakeholders flagged this clause, fearing potential discrepancies.
This led to allegations that the tender had been designed to favour certain bidders associated with radio taxi services.
Prior to that, another bidding process was conducted to engage a new service provider, but it too came under scrutiny. Bidders had alleged a lack of transparency, and several of the country’s top ambulance service operators were disqualified.
