HC raps govt over non-utilisation of funds, vacancies in health dept

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday pulled up the Maharashtra government over large number of vacancies in the public health department and under-utilisation of funds allocated for drugs and equipment in government hospitals

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday pulled up the Maharashtra government over large number of vacancies in the public health department and under-utilisation of funds allocated for drugs and equipment in government hospitals.

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“This is now a trend among government authorities. Money is sanctioned but not spent,” said chief justice DK Upadhyaya, while hearing a suo motu petition on deaths in government hospitals in Nanded and Sambhajinagar districts. The court had taken suo moto cognizance of these deaths on October 4.

The court made a note of the 20,402 vacant positions in the public health department – nearly one-third of the sanctioned 57,740 posts – and directed the state as well as the Maharashtra Public Service Commission to give detailed reports specifying steps taken by fill vacancies. The court also asked the procurement authority to describe the actions it took to meet the needs of government hospitals.

Appearing on behalf of the state, advocate general Birendra Saraf presented detailed charts about the steps taken to fill up vacancies and quicken the procurement process for medical goods. Saraf said the government had already appointed an officer to discharge the duties of the chief executive officer of the procurement department; they had also prepared detailed charts of the items required by each hospital, requests pending, and the state of tenders.

Saraf assured the court that demands for drugs would be met at the earliest, while procurement of equipment may take time. He also said that the medical education and research and public health departments would directly recruit 4,341 nurses, and 3,974 of them would be recruited by December-end.

The court, after taking note of the detailed notes, directed the state and the Maharashtra Public Service Commission to expedite recruitment process. It also asked the commission to consider shortening the timeline for recruitment. The next hearing is scheduled for February 1, 2023.