Irregularities in Covid management in Karnataka: PAC recommends inquiry by independent agency

Observing large-scale irregularities in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic by the Health and Family Welfare Department in Karnataka, a House Committee has recommended the state government to hand over the inquiry to an independent agency.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by the now Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, was set up in 2020 to look into allegations of corruption in Covid management by the department. The report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. It pointed out that many devices were bought at inflated rates. In some cases, the department was unable to provide bills or documents supporting tender processes.

The panel said the department misled the public on Covid deaths. While the planning and statistics department's data showed that the number of deaths between January 2021 and July 2021 was 4.26 lakh, the Health and Family Welfare Department underplayed it by saying there were only 37,206 deaths. This is “criminal”, the panel said.

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Of the 165 ventilators bought using PM-Cares Fund, many were given to private hospitals while patients in government hospitals languished without adequate ventilators, oxygen and beds.

The department has justified this by stating that government hospitals had adequate infrastructure and that the ventilators were given to private hospitals on the condition of them being returned, the committee said.

“This is not acceptable as it was evident that many deaths occurred owing to lack of ventilators, oxygen and beds,” it pointed out, alleging that the department was hand in glove with private hospitals which fleeced patients by charging more than the government-sanctioned rates.

In another instance, equipment such as the 5-part haematology cell counter was bought at the rate of Rs 8.35 lakh per unit (the government bought 165 such units), while Kerala bought the same at Rs 4.60 lakh per machine, with Karnataka spending Rs 6 crore more, the committee said.

The department asserted that the Karnataka machines had a five-year warranty but tender documents showed a three-year warranty.

Also, the government bought 1.10 crore Ivermectin tablets even after the WHO advised against its usage. About 9.68 tablets were lying in the government inventory without any information on the expenditure incurred for the purchase, it said.

Some of the other observations by the committee are: Officials distributed Covid vaccine to people on their prerogative while not making the Covid vaccine portal available on time to the common man; remdesivir injections and rapid antigen test kits were bought at inflated prices; and at least two private companies went scot-free even after failing to supply the number of rapid antigen test kits which was agreed upon.