SHILLONG: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has urged the Meghalaya government to investigate how the Directorate of Health Services (Medical Institutions) bought medicines at higher prices and called for the identification of officials responsible for these lapses.
In its report on social and economic sectors for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the CAG highlighted that “procurement of medicines at rates higher than the approved rates of the Central Purchase Board (CPB) from non-approved manufacturers by the DHS (MI) had resulted in avoidable excess expenditure.”
The CAG found an avoidable expenditure of Rs 0.87 crore due to these lapses.
“The state government may initiate an inquiry to identify the reasons for procuring medicines from unapproved suppliers at higher rates and fix responsibility on the official(s) concerned for the lapses,” the report read.
In response to the audit findings, the DHS (MI) claimed that the medicines were included in the essential drugs list and were urgently requisitioned by districts. Consequently, they argued that the medicines were procured at market rates on an emergency basis due to the inability of approved suppliers to provide them immediately at the approved rates.
The CAG, however, contested this explanation, pointing out that the medicines were supplied 11 to 19 months after the initial orders were placed, negating the emergency purchase justification.
Furthermore, the CAG observed that the Directorate of Health Services (Medical Institutions) failed to provide copies of indents for the medicines from district authorities or furnish documented evidence of the approved suppliers’ inability to deliver the medicines. Additionally, no evidence of action taken against defaulting firms for breaching contractual obligations was presented.
While the matter was reported to the state government in February 2023, a response is still pending.
