Karnataka Minister warns of action against officials delaying filling of pending posts in govt depts
Bengaluru: Karnataka's Social Welfare Minister, Dr. HC Mahadevappa, has issued a warning to officials regarding the filling of pending backlog posts across various government departments in compliance with court directives.
In a cabinet sub-committee meeting convened at Vidhana Soudha on Monday, Mahadevappa stressed the need to address the longstanding vacancies in government departments, corporations, boards, cooperatives, and universities. He directed officials to convene a meeting chaired by the commissioner to monitor the progress of filling these positions.
Emphasizing the government's obligation to fill these constitutional posts, Mahadevappa cautioned that officials found delaying the process or showing negligence would face direct accountability. He confirmed that letters have been dispatched to all departments prioritizing the resolution of backlog vacancies and reiterated that strict action would be taken against non-compliant officials, in accordance with government directives and court mandates.
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Discussing the specific case of 76 pending backlog posts at Mysuru University, Mahadevappa acknowledged concerns raised by several government boards seeking exemptions from backlog recruitment since 2015. He indicated that this matter would be tabled before the cabinet for a decision aimed at ensuring all positions are filled without further delay.
Mahadevappa also disclosed receiving proposals from officials regarding the potential revision of age limits for applicants applying for backlog posts, hinting that this suggestion might be considered in forthcoming discussions.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
