Health dept to probe mask scam

Palanpur: After the then Chief District Health Officer (CDHO) of Banaskantha district, Dr Manish Fancy was transferred around a month ago, a departmental inquiry has been initiated against him in what appears to be huge scam in mass procurement. In a single day, 21,000 masks were purchased at an exorbitant price of Rs 47 lakh meant for 13 talukas of Banaskantha. This figure does not include those masks which were purchased at the hospitals that were started at Palanpur, Deesa and Dhanera to tackle the rising Covid-19 cases.
Taking a serious note of Dr Fancy’s inappropriate conduct as well as for harassing employees and initiating punitive action against a few doctors who refused to cooperate with him, the state government has taken the coercive action. Dr Fancy will have to answer the purchase of N95 masks procured at ‘unexplained’ prices. District development officer Swapnil Khare said that the probe is being conducted by Health Department in Gandhinagar.
In an order dated March 30, 2020, GMSCL had imposed a ceiling price for the purchase of N95 masks not exceeding Rs 49.61 per unit which it sent to all subordinate offices of the Health Department by Gujarat Medical Services Corporation Limited (public enterprise of Gujarat government).
But misusing his official position, Dr Fancy forcibly secured the ID and password of all the taluka health officers under him and procured the masks from a single Sabarkantha agency at a far greater price. Those officers who protested were demoted from taluka health officer level to medical officer.
Officers in Dhanera and Lakhni were replaced, while in-charge RCHO, Dr NK Garg, an EMO, was removed from the procurement committee by Dr Fancy.
Had the purchases been made as per the government stipulated price, the cost would have been Rs 10.42 lakh. But Dr Fancy spent Rs 47.32 lakh for the same product from public money with total disregard to financial propriety.