The Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (APVVP) has taken a serious note of the alleged fraud in the submission of bills pertaining to the medical, food and surgical kits supplied to the area hospital at Narasaraopet, and has ordered a detailed inquiry into it.
“These allegations are in my notice. I have asked my staff to inquire into it. It is a preliminary inquiry. Based on it, we will take further action. Whether really the bills have to be paid or not. If we have to pay, we will pay them after verification, and if we need not pay then we will not release the money,” S. Venkateswar, Commissioner of APVVP, told The Hindu on June 6 (Tuesday).
Palnadu district Collector Siva Sankar Lotheti also ordered an inquiry into the matter. It would include how the medicines were sourced and for what purpose they were used. All the accounts would also be verified for further action.
“Based on the report from the internal audit committee and after verification of records, it is noticed that the procedure laid down has been totally violated in the purchase of medicines during the COVID-19 period.”Siva Sankar Lotheti Palnadu district Collector
“Based on the report from the internal audit committee and after verification of records, it is noticed that the procedure laid down has been totally violated in the purchase of medicines during the COVID-19 period,” Mr. Siva Sankar said.
As per the internal audit committee report, the authorities concerned did not follow the requisite tender system to finalise the drug supplier to purchase medicines.
“The departments in the hospital have to submit a local purchase requisition to the stores if the medicines are not supplied by the government due to non-availability within the hospital. The local purchase order is based on the local purchase indent from the wards received by the Superintendent of the hospital. The drug supplier has to supply the medicines along with the delivery challan the same day,” the audit committee report said.
“After receiving an invoice from the drug supplier, the bills should be generated the same day,” it added.
The report also said that there were no particulars of the tenders process, local purchase indents and requisition. There were no purchase orders or delivery challans. The supplier had supplied the drugs without following the procedure, the report said.
The audit committee report had, therefore, instructed the Medical Officer of the hospital to furnish the reasons for not following the tenders system, and the reasons for violating the procedure laid down in the purchase of medicines.
Hospital Superintendent B.V. Ranga Rao, who took charge in September 2022, said that he would be able to clear the dues if the vendors provided proper bills and reasons for the delay. “Otherwise, it will not be possible for me to release the amount,” Dr. Ranga Rao said.
The issue had come to the notice of the officials after the vendors placed a demand form for clearance of bills worth ₹47 lakh for the drugs, surgical instrument and food supplied by them between 2020-21 and 2021-22 (up to February) financial years.
The internal audit (the report of which is in possession of The Hindu) was conducted by a three-member committee headed by K. Srinivasulu, Assistant Finance Officer (AFO), at the office of the District Coordinator of Hospital Services (DCHS), APVVP, Guntur.
Diet contractor Valluri Ramadevi had submitted bills worth ₹16,44,100 between January 1, 2020 and January 31, 2022.
Similarly, Pavan Reddy of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendra, a medical shop at the hospital, submitted bills worth ₹20,87,012.
Royal Enterprises sought release of an amount of ₹9,76,177 for supply of surgical kits.
