Amid 3rd wave, Punjab health officials 'paid inflated rates' for sanitisers

Tribune News Service

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, March 22

As the Covid third wave started to take toll in January, Punjab’s health officials allegedly bought 1.55 lakh bottles of hand sanitisers at inflated rates.

As per the documents available with The Tribune, to meet the requirements of the Election Commission for the recently held Vidhan Sabha elections, the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) purchased over 1.8 lakh bottles of hand sanitisers on January 5. Each 500 ml bottle was bought at Rs 54.54 (excluding GST).

DoP placed order

The Director of Procurement (DoP), PHSC, was responsible for the purchase order.

Bhupinder Singh, MD, PHSC

Urgent purchase

Due to the outbreak, we had to make urgent purchases, so the rates were a little high.

Dr Sharanjit Kaur, Director procurement

Not aware of any such buying

I am not aware of any such purchase. It might have been done by the PHSC. OP Soni, former Health Minister

Similar bottles were required for hospitals of Punjab also. However, this time, the PHSC allegdly bought the sanitiser bottles for Rs 160 (excluding GST) each. As per the documents, the PHSC placed the order for 1.55 lakh bottles (500 ml each) for Rs 2.49 crore on January 3.

The purchase for the EC was made through an open tender. However, the PHSC made purchase for its own consumption through Punjab’s Controller of Stores, which works under the Department of Industries and Commerce.

According to health experts, Rs 160 per bottle of sanitiser is one of the highest price for a 500-ml bottle paid by any state in the country.

Not just sanitisers, but the purchase for the hospital furniture also raises eyebrows.

As per the documents, the Government of Punjab asked the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot (BFUHS) to procure fowler and semi-fowler beds. The university floated the tender on the government procurement portal. In August 2021, it procured 466 fowler beds for Rs 31,356 each and 4,308 semi-fowler beds for Rs 27,411 each.

However, the Controller of Stores which makes procurement for the Health Department has the rate contract for fowler bed at Rs 58,042 and semi-fowler bed with mattress at Rs 46,872.

Significantly, after the Covid outbreak, the Centre had given Rs 198-crore Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Package to Punjab. Initially, the BFUHS was given the charge of making all Covid-related purchases for the state’s hospitals. As per the package guidelines, every purchase is done through the government portal.

After Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni assumed the charge of the Health Department in September 2021, the department took the control of purchase from the BFUHS. When contacted, Soni said he was not aware of any such purchase. “It might have been done by the PHSC,” he said.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#op soni