Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan has ordered a vigilance probe into alleged irregularities in furniture purchases for government Ayurveda hospitals, including a Rs 11.45 lakh procurement made before the completion of a hospital building in Pinarayi, Kannur.
The minister directed a comprehensive investigation after rejecting the health department principal secretary’s recommendation for a departmental inquiry by the finance department. The vigilance investigation will examine the purchases and the circumstances in which the procurement was carried out, according to a report by the Times of India.
The probe will primarily focus on P R Saji, the former state programme manager of the National AYUSH Mission, who issued the order for the furniture purchase. The case concerns procurement carried out for government Ayurveda hospitals under the state’s AYUSH-related healthcare system.
At the government Ayurveda hospital in Pinarayi, furniture worth Rs 11.45 lakh was purchased before construction of the hospital building had been completed. The timing of the purchase has raised questions about the procurement process and whether furniture was acquired before the facility was ready to receive and use it.
The report also refers to similar large-scale purchases at government Ayurveda hospitals in Mattannur, Chalakudy and Venganoor. These purchases have allegedly violated prescribed rules, although the supplied report does not provide the total value of the procurements at the four locations or specify the individual procedures said to have been breached.
The principal secretary had favoured a finance department inquiry, but Muraleedharan ordered a vigilance probe because of the seriousness of the alleged irregularities. The decision places the matter with the vigilance system rather than limiting it to an internal departmental examination.
The investigation is expected to establish how the purchase decisions were taken, what role officials played and whether procurement procedures were followed. The supplied report does not state the timeline for completion of the probe or indicate whether any disciplinary action has been initiated against the officials named in connection with the purchases.
