Officials of the Legal Metrology Department have cracked down on several hospitals which are reportedly selling medicines, stents and surgical items at more than the maximum retail price (MRP).

Many patients who undergo operations do not know the actual MRP and it is not mentioned in the bills. Many hospitals merely mention their cost in the bills.

Legal Metrology Deputy Controller N. Janardhana Rao, Assistant Commissioner S.M. Radha Krishna, inspectors Ch. Varaprasad and A. Balarama Krishna inspected the hospitals in Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram and other places. According to them, many hospitals which had their own pharmacies were putting patients in the dark as far as rates were concerned.

“The hospitals should mention all details, including batch numbers and prices in the bill. They are supposed to inform the MRP of stents and the cost of surgical materials in advance so that patients will have an idea about the overall cost. We have found many lapses and registered cases against a few hospitals. Our higher authorities will finalise the penalty as per norms,” said Mr. Radha Krishna.

Meanwhile, special teams conducted a special drive on petrol pumps. They registered cases against four outlets where the quantity of fuel dispensed was less than the reading in the machines.

Mr. Radha Krishna warned all the pumps to supply exact quantity of petrol and diesel to customers instead of blaming the machines.

Owners’ plea

Vizianagaram Petroleum Dealers’ Association president Goluguri Nagireddy said that lapses were almost nil with the installation of the latest equipment in all fuel outlets as per the guidelines of the Union government. “There is stiff competition among the outlets, hence none will indulge in malpractice. All the outlets in the district cooperated with the Legal Metrology Department to ensure transparency in business activity. We requested not to impose heavy fines for trivial lapses since many fuel outlets in rural areas are incurring losses due to the lack of business,” he added.