In order to save the skin of the health department officials involved in Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ElISA) kit scam, the department is planning to put the onus of purchase of these kits at higher rates than the market price on the drug supplier. Taking exception of the scam in the purchase of ElISA kits used in confirmatory test of dengue, the Health Minister of Uttarakhand Surendra Singh Negi has asked the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Dehradun to conduct an inquiry and submit a factual report. The Pioneer has learnt from reliable sources that the office of CMO is planning to shift the blame of purchase of ElISA kits on inflated rates which resulted in siphoning of public money on the company selected to supply the kits. It is ostensibly being done to save the health department officials involved in purchase of these kits. It is learnt that the supplier of these kits has accepted its mistake of overpricing the kits and to present a picture that the department is acting tough; the proposal to penalise the vendor and recover the excess payment is also anvil. However every possible care is being exercised to shield the department officials involved in purchase of these kits.
The CMO of Dehradun Dr Y S Tapliyal said that the report on the purchase of ElISA kits would be soon sent to the Government.
The CMO office of Dehradun invited tenders for the purchase of ElISA test kits when the disease hit the state capital in the month of July this year. The selected firm supplied these kits at a rate of Rs 19000 per piece. The kit was of Panbio diagnostic manufactured by Standard diagnostic Inc, a South Korean company. When the demand of the kit increased due to outburst in the number of dengue cases the department purchased same kit from another supplier at a rate of Rs 17000 per kit. It is learnt that the CMO office showed unnecessary haste in clearing the tender and overlooked the fact that the market price of these kits is much less. One ElISA kit can be used to test 91 samples and the district health department has so far conducted 36512 ElISA tests on suspected samples of dengue this year which means that more than 400 kits have been used by the department to purchase these kits so far. As per the norm the firm selected for government supplies should provide the material at price which is less than 21 percent from the market rate which means that the department made an excess payment of Rs 4000 on every kit purchased.