JAMMU, Apr 19 (KNO) : Taking serious not of the media reports and complaints regarding alleged malfunctioning of Administrative break through down in the Indian System of Medicines (ISM) Department, the State Accountability Commission (SAC) has required the state government to put these departments back to rails within three months or divert its Rs 100 Crore budget to strengthen the Health/Patient Care in the rural areas in the state.
As per official hand out, revealed that the reports and complaints had alleged that out of 576 Centers/Institutions of this department, 129 had been rendered defunct due to withdrawal of doctors, shortage of medicines and other facilities etc. On this, the State Accountability Commission has summoned Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department for assistance.
On examining him, a full Bench of the Commission comprising SAC Chairman retired Justice B A Khan and other two Members retired Justices J P Singh and B A Kirmani found prima facie substance in the allegations against the Health department. The Principal Secretary admitted before the Commission that the doctors had been withdrawn from some of the rural centres and deployed at Unani Colleges in Jammu and Ganderbal though Ganderbal College was not functional. After the Commission undertook further security of the departmental functioning and on hearing, the Principal Secretary, it was found that the department has not set up Panchkarma Centres, touted to be on alternative system of medicine for catering to the Health requirements of the rural population.
The Commission also found that the department functioning left much to be desired due to alleged irregularities in running of its Centres and deployment of its doctors in comfort zones for various considerations, lack of supervision by District Officers, Groupism and absentees in its staff, irregularities in the purchase of medicines and prescribing of cross prescriptions by its doctors etc.
On consideration of the information furnished by the Principal Secretary and on overall survey of the functioning of the department, the SAC required the government as an interim measure to redeploy those doctors withdrawn from rural centers to take steps to set up Panchkarma Centres, to take steps for regularization of the existence AYUSH Units, to set up supervisory mechanism to check the malpractice of ISM doctors prescribing Allopathic medicines in hospital centers and at their own places of practice. The Commission granted the Principal Secretary 3 months time to act on these, interim measures/recommendation and to submit status report of the working of the department before the Commission on the next date.