Medicine procurement delay: Officer gets notice

New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh has issued a show-cause notice to the Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department over the alleged failure to submit a comprehensive action plan on pending procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment despite repeated directions, according to the notice.

The notice said the minister had first directed the department through an official communication dated May 26, to prepare and submit a comprehensive action plan with item-wise timelines for completion of all pending procurement processes. It also sought a review of timelines for submission of demands by health institutions.

According to the notice, after no response was received, another communication was issued on June 17 directing the department to submit the action plan and report by June 19. The notice said that as the information was still not provided, another communication was issued on July 22.

However, it alleged that no concrete reply had been furnished on the item-wise timelines for completion of pending procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment.

The continued failure to comply with the directions had hampered monitoring of critical procurement activities and reflected serious administrative negligence affecting public health services, the notice alleged.

The notice asked the Health Secretary to explain why the repeated directions were not followed and why no Action Taken Report or reply was submitted despite repeated reminders.

It also sought an explanation on why disciplinary action under the applicable Conduct Rules should not be recommended against the officers responsible for the alleged omission and dereliction of duty.