RTI exposes gap in pricing of ventilators under PM Cares Fund
The government response to a query under RTI (right to information) has exposed a big anomaly in the prices of ventilators bought under the PM Cares Fund (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund). A technical panel formed under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) did not recommend two firms to whom an advance was already made.
According to India Today, RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj on June 18, 2020, sought information on the details of hospitals run by the Centre which have been allocated money or have been supplied ventilators paid for through the PM Cares Fund, including the names of the hospitals.
She also wanted to know the total amount made available from the PM Cares Fund, total number of ventilators supplied and the number of ventilators that have been delivered and paid for through the Fund.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on July 20, 2020, “250 PM-Cares ventilators were given to DRDO COVID Hospital in Delhi and three have been provided to the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Delhi. No funds are being provided to hospitals for purchase of ventilators.”
“The Ministry and HLL had made purchase orders for 58,850 ‘Make in India’ ventilators. PM Cares is proving Rs 2,000 crore for the purchase of Make in India ventilators.” It provides the name of the firms, the purchase order quantity and the purchase order value. The reply notes that the technical committee constituted under DGHS recommended only 3 of the 6 companies. It finally notes that 17,100 ventilators have been allocated to states/UTs.
However, the table containing the names of the companies, the purchase order quantity and the purchase order value provided in the RTI response shows a wide variation in the ventilators’ prices. For instance, as per the table, each ventilator from ‘Allied Medical’ company costs Rs 8.62 lakh, while those from ‘Agva Healthcare’ company cost Rs 1.66 lakh each.
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“The details of the 17,100 ventilators allocated to the states and UTs, in terms of the names of the hospitals to which these were allocated, the number of ventilators allocated etc could not be located in the public domain,” said the RTI activist.
In another RTI filed on June 18, 2020, Bhardwaj requested a copy of correspondence through which the views of the Department of Health and Family Welfare were sought on the supply of ventilators from the PM Cares Fund.
A copy of the communication between the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Health Ministry was provided. It was a letter dated May 18, 2020 from Bhaskar Khulbe (adviser to the Prime Minister), written to Secretary, MoHFW and a reply from Secretary, MoHFW dated May 20, 2020. The letter from Khulbe noted that the Health Ministry has already initiated the process of procurement of ventilators based on the recommendations of the empowered group constituted and requests a detailed proposal so that 50,000 ventilators can be financed through the PM Cares Fund.
It said the entire administrative process of purchase and deployment of these ventilators will be done by the ministry as per government norms of procurement. It also stated that manufacturers should be informed that the ventilators carry a distinct identity showing that they have been supplied from PM Cares fund and are also embedded with a GPS device.
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The response from the ministry provided a detailed statement containing the names of the companies, the purchase order quantity, the purchase order value and the advance released. It noted that the purchase order of Rs 166 crore to a company was given before the constitution of the empowered group.
The table containing the names of the companies, the purchase order quantity and the purchase order value shows a wide anomaly in the pricing of ventilators. At least one purchase order was given without the nod of the empowered group as it pre-dated the constitution of the group.
“This RTI response shows that at least two of the companies — Jyoti CNV Automation & AMTZ Basic — to whom an advance was released and were later not recommended by the technical committee constituted under the DGHS,” Bhardwaj said.
The PM Cares Fund has met with criticism. The Congress has questioned the decision to set up a new body when there was already a relief fund in the form of the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Petitions were also filed in the Supreme Court.
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The apex court has dismissed a petition seeking transfer of funds or merger of the PM Cares Fund with the PMNRF. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Centre has the freedom to decide the financial measures to be adopted to combat Covid-19.
Since it is a public charitable trust with voluntary donations and does not get any government support, no CAG audit is required, the Supreme Court has ruled.
