Close on the heels of multi-crore excise and Delhi Jal Board scandal, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP-led Delhi Government’s Vigilance Department has found gross irregularities in procurement of certain medical items purchased to favour ‘a few individuals’ and ‘companies’ which ultimately favoured the companies, causing huge loss to the Government’s exchequer during the Covid pandemic.

The Vigilance Department on Monday issued a show cause notice to the Health Minister’s OSD RN Das in connection with alleged irregularities in procurement of various items like personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, gloves, masks and RAT kits worth around Rs 60 crore during Covid pandemic in 2021.

In a show-cause notice issued on Monday by the Vigilance Department, it said in various cases, committees headed by RN Das (who was OSD to Health Minister Satyender Jain and currently OSD to Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj) was in the forefront in managing the tenders in favour of a particular family in different company names.

Jain is currently lodged in Tihar facing a probe in a money laundering case while Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia too are in Tihar Jail for the liquorgate scam.

The vigilance department has sought a response from Das within seven days and it said the conspiracy was hatched in the backdrop of Covid crisis and the pandemic was used as a reason and basis to swindle crores of rupees from public exchequer and all the procurements were done completely ignoring the procedure to be followed by the mandate issued by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

“Health department officials have used the context of Covid for enriching these private companies and intentionally allowed cartelisation among the companies,” said the notice pointing Das chaired three committees for procurement of single use gloves, sterilised gloves and N-95 masks.

Reacting to the show cause notice, the AAP-led Delhi Government in a statement said, “The laughable allegations borne out of desperation pertain to the time period when Das was neither OSD of Saurabh Bharadwaj nor Satyendra Jain. Neither was he recommended by the then Minister.”

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has welcomed the notice and has said this will help bring out the truth of the scam of purchase and distribution of fake and poor quality medicines in the Delhi Government hospitals. The BJP leader said no OSD or ministerial employee can do such a big scam without the consent of the concerned Minister.

According to notice, the cartelisation and giving wrongful gain to the suppliers is also established by the fact that the initial tender of RAT Kit was given to M/s SD Biosensor, Healthcare private limited at the unit price of Rs 450.

This tender was awarded based upon the circular of ICMR dated 26.08.2020 as per the supply order dated 16.06.2020 and 29.06.2020 for Rs 49.50 crore (approximately together). The logic that was given for M/s SD Biosensor Healthcare Pvt Ltd is that it was recognised as a valid supplier for the RAT Kit.

In the said circular of ICMR, there is no mention of Pharma Surge Impex or M/s AC Surgipharma Pvt Ltd Dr RN Das and company have introduced the concept of tendering through GeM instead of directly ordering as per the ICMR circular so as to roping in Pharma Surge Impex and M/s AC Surgipharma Pvt Ltd, which are owned by the family of Sandeep Gupta and Chetan Makhija.

The notice further said in the tender the rate that was quoted is Rs 459.20 per unit. It is observed that as to how these officers have awarded contracts and adopted tendering methods contrary to ICMR circular.

Even in the tender, the unit price is Rs 9.20 higher than the initial unit price. It is observed that the rate of RAT Kit has progressively declined every month so much so that within a span of 6 months, the RAT Kit was available at a rate of Rs 31.50 per unit.

It further stated that RAT Kit orders were given jointly to M/s Pharma Surge Impex (Proprietor is Vandana Gupta wife of Sandeep Gupta) and M/s SD Biosensor Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. (Proprietor is Chetan Makhija).

These two companies were together and were given 4 orders which indicate strong collaboration. Pharma Surge Impex does not figure in the list of ICMR circular dated 26.08.2020.

The vigilance department said Chetan Makhija is also director of M/s SD Biosensor Healthcare Pvt Ltd as well as M/s AC Surgipharma Pvt Ltd. Approvals were either given to M/s SD Biosensor Healthcare Pvt Ltd or M/s AC Surgipharma Pvt Ltd. “And whereas, outwardly, they are two different companies but it is manned by Chetan Makhija which is again proof of cartelisation,” it said.

The notice said the omissions and commissions have been noticed on the part of RN Das, OSD to then Minister (Health) Satyendra Jain in the purchase of various medical items, such as single use gloves, sterilised gloves, N-95 masks & RAT kit, in the backdrop of Covid crisis during the year 2020-2022.

The department said Health Department officials used the context of Covid for enriching these private companies and intentionally allowed cartelisation among the competitors.

“It is observed that certain medical items were purchased so as to favour a few individuals and companies/ firms and thereby causing wrongful gain to these companies and wrongful loss to the Government,” the order a show cause notice copy said.

The notice said the direct order was placed to SD Biosensor Healthcare Pvt Ltd as per ICMR circular. But subsequent procurement was not done u/s 50 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, it was done based upon recommendation by committee under Chairmanship of Dr RN Das, Dr ZSIC Marak and Dr Poonam Panwar.

In its observation that led to a needle of suspicion, the vigilance noted that three members were common in all the committees formed to be involved in the procurement of several items and incidentally flouting the norms all these committees were headed by RN Das in the capacity of chairperson in all the committees.