The Hindu : Health dept. incurred Rs. 8-cr. wasteful expenditure: CAG

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Health dept. incurred Rs. 8-cr. wasteful expenditure: CAG

By Feroze Ahmed

CHENNAI MAY 25. While patients still loyal to government hospitals suffer outdated equipment, flea-ridden surroundings and the flippant care, owing to a constrained budget, the Health department has squandered over Rs.8 crores through sheer misadministration.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India for the year ended March 2002, cites at least three instances of `unfruitful expenditure' and `avoidable payment' in government hospitals, ranging from failure to fix water meters to non-commissioning of steam laundries.

The report states that delay in appointment of qualified staff, supply of machinery and completion of civic works, led to non-establishment of steam laundries in district headquarters hospitals and resulted in unfruitful expenditure.

In 1991, the Government had sanctioned steam laundries for 16 DHHs at Rs.50 lakhs each. But, more than a decade later, till April 2002, they had not been commissioned anywhere except at Nagercoil.

At Dharmapuri and Erode, the steam laundries were installed but were not commissioned for want of technical staff. At Kumbakonam and Nagapattinam, buildings for laundries were built at a cost of Rs.70.91 lakhs, and the Government sanctioned a revised amount of Rs.62.65 lakhs and Rs. 82 lakhs respectively to instal the steam laundries. But the Chief Engineer (Buildings) said the Government had not issued a letter of credit, and thus, the equipment was not bought.

While these and other delays dragged on, the Government changed its mind and decided in June 2001 that the use of steam laundries was more expensive than engaging private contractors for washing linen. But by then, it had already spent Rs.6.81 crores in setting them up.

In the second instance cited in the report, about Rs.98.06 lakhs was wasted in constructing hospital blocks that could not be used due to lack of staff and equipment.

The Government, in 1997, sanctioned a 23-bed neurosurgery block at the Ramanathapuram DHH. The construction was completed in May 2001 at a cost of Rs.64.85 crores, but till July 2002, the Government had not sanctioned staff or equipment for the speciality block. Authorities insisted that new posts could not be created due to a recruitment ban. Similarly, the 10-bed Accident and Emergency Services block constructed at Rs.33.21 lakhs was also not operational for want of staff and equipment.

Besides these, the report points out that even something as seemingly frivolous as the failure to repair water meters at the Government Royapettah Hospital, Chennai, has resulted in an avoidable payment of Rs.31.84 lakhs.

As the water meters in the GRH were not functioning, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board charged it on an average monthly consumption of 44.29 litres. The bills continued even when the supply went dry from December 1999, and the hospital superintendent, without protest, paid Rs.31.84 lakhs between January 2000 and May 2002.

When the metres were later installed, the charge was Rs.7,950 for July 2002, and only Rs.1,850, for August. `

`This proves that the amount paid was avoidable,'' the report says.

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