Health Minister Dr. Ampareen Lyngdoh on Wednesday informed that she has received a preliminary report on the recent dumping of lakhs of expired medicines at Marten from the DHS which will be sent to the bureaucrats for detailed study.
Assuring that as a Health Minister she will put in all efforts to correct the systemic failure, Dr. Lyngdoh informed that a departmental enquiry has been set up in this regard.
Addressing media persons, Lyngdoh said, “I have asked for a departmental enquiry into this matter. Once we have the inquiry (report) ready then I will again share with the public on the action to be taken and hopefully we will set things right once and for all.”
“We are going to get on the job. We have to take necessary actions. We have to communicate very clearly to officials in the department that you are not permitted to do these things for various reasons,” she said.
She said this is not the first time something like this where medicines have expired and disposed of has happened. Such matters are recurring again and again.
On June 29, lakhs of expired medicines amounting to crores of rupees were dumped at Marten dumping ground.
Lyngdoh also questioned how anyone got access into the landfill of the municipal board at Marten. Where are any indents made? Who allowed this vehicle passage? Who disposed of these medicines?
“You cannot just walk into the landfill and dispose of whatever you want at your whims and fancies as there are procedures. If these procedures were adhered to likely we would have averted this error. This is an error which we cannot allow to reoccur and this I am taking care of whether or not it will be independent inquiry or whether or not certain medicines for certain groups of individuals were denied I don’t know,” she said.
She said that she has only received a preliminary report from the DHS so far. According to her, once the report comes, they will decide on the next course of action.
The minister also informed that she had asked the MD of the National Health Mission (NHM) to immediately form a committee to look into the medicine issue.
“One cannot imagine that medicines are lifted from the godown, nobody knows who lifted them and when it was lifted. Municipal board is supposed to be the authority that actually is authorized (to dispose of expired medicines) provided you have gotten your clearance from all the other authorities.”
