BMC slashes tendering cost to encourage participation in medicine procurement

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai is slashing the tendering cost to encourage more distributors to participate in the medicine tendering process. The decision was made after discussions between the BMC and vendors. The aim is to promote healthy competition and increase the number of vendors. The BMC will also streamline the medicine and equipment procurement process and make changes to the Central Purchasing Department. This comes after reports of an artificial shortage of medicines at BMC-run hospitals.

Mumbai: To encourage participation of more distributors in the medicine tendering process, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to heavily slash the tendering cost.

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The decision was taken after Dr Sudhakar Shinde, additional municipal commissioner (Health), had a series of meetings with the Central Purchasing Department (CPD) and vendors last weekend.

“There is a large amount of tendering cost involved in each tender. It was observed that the amount was close to 7-8% of the total cost and was a deterrent for vendors to participate in the bids. By slashing the tender cost, we will encourage healthy competition and get more vendors,” said Dr Shinde.

A circular in this regard will be issued in a day or two, he said. Dr Shinde had met close to 50 vendors over the weekend during which he also requested them to speak to their respective manufacturers if they can supply medicines to the BMC on expired rate contract cost.

“Most have agreed. For a few drugs/medicines where the vendors have not agreed, we will float short duration tenders. By the next three months, we will streamline all the medicine/equipment procurement process in the CPD,” said Dr Shinde, who added that the civic body is making changes in the procurement process in healthcare.

“We are working on making our procurement more comprehensive so that more drugs are available at our hospitals. There were certain drugs that were not part of our schedules. We will include them. We are working towards simplifying and speeding up the procurement process at CPD,” he said.

The corporation has also decided to increase manpower and make changes in the CPD. “We are making a system where deans will be kept out of non-clinical work like procurement of medicines,” said Dr Shinde.

On May 10, HT reported on the artificial shortage of medicines at BMC-run hospitals which in turn forced patients to buy medicines, gloves, saline, medical dressing etc. from outside.

The All Food and Drug License Holder’s Foundation (AFDLHF), which represents over 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers and 1,000 distributors across India, had alleged that in the last two to three years, the CPD has not floated tenders for bulk purchases.

This led hospitals to procure basic and life-saving medicines, such as paracetamol, antibiotics, injections, saline, surgical gloves and dressing material, from local vendors at exorbitant rates, alleged the AFDLHF.

The body claimed that this has resulted in the BMC incurring a loss of almost ₹100 crore over the last two years and had also shared this with Iqbal Singh, municipal commissioner and administrator, on April 11.

HT visited some of the hospitals and found that relatives of patients were spending heavily on buying medicines. A CAG report titled ‘Public Health Infrastructure of Health Services in Maharashtra’ from 2019-20 to 2021-22 also stated that there was a delay in finalisation of the rate contract for different schedules of medicines for a period ranging from four months to 35 months.

The state government had also set up a high-level inquiry on August 4 into the procurement of medicines at BMC-run hospitals.