Is Directorate of Health Services backing 'blacklisted' company?

Lord Krishna and Mangalam Medicaments aspired to supply medical equipments for exclusive Commonwealth Games hospitals but they were busted by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) for bidding rates way too high and backing out of the contract at the eleventh hour.

However, it seems that the health services regulator has now turned a blind eye towards to the two ghost suppliers. MiD DAY had revealed how Lord Krishna was operating out of a registered address, which does not exist while Mangalam Medicaments provided contradictory claims about manufacturing particular medical equipment.

Official documents in possession of MiD DAY exposed how the DHS allowed M/S Life Line systems private limited to bid for a tender to provide X-ray films to the Gobind Ballabh Pant on rates which are much higher than the ones being quoted by other private companies.

Life Line systems is a sister concern of the Lord Krishna and if claims by the DHS were any indication, the company should have been debarred from bidding for all future tenders, along with its sister concerns. However, the regulator is still sitting on its stated position on the matter that both Lord Krishna and Mangalam Medicaments would be debarred and blacklisted.

It would be pertinent to note here that the rates on which Life Line systems offered X-ray films to the GB Pant Hospital were approved by the Central Procurement Agency while the bidders for the hospital's own tender offered much lesser price.

The rate of films as per the hospital tender is Rs 1880 per packet whereas the rate under CPA is Rs 3760 per packet. And it is not just about the price only.

"The films with us are from Kodak Company, but the films offered by CPA have no brands and are costly too," said Dr Veena Chowdhary, director, GB Pant Hospital.
The hospital has also written to the DHS about the loss it will cost to the exchequer if they would follow the CPA cost.

When the hospital administration pointed this out to the Life Line systems, they did not revert. "We have been continuously taking up the matter with them but haven't received a single reply till date," said a senior hospital official, requesting anonymity.

Much like the parent company, the credentials of the Life Line systems are not too clear as the official website of the company does not list X-ray in the items it claims to manufacture.
"If the company is not an authorized manufacturer for certain medical equipment, how can DHS buy the products from them," asked a DHS official, requesting anonymity.

Shady deals
Lord Krishna and Mangalam Medicaments had backed out of their commitment to supply equipment ranging from stethoscopes and scoop stretcher to ultrasound machines.
Reportedly, these companies were under the scanner as they had allegedly secured the order for supplying the medical equipment for Commonwealth Games despite quoting exorbitant rates.

Though the exact amount of the contract for procurement of medical equipment is not known, sources in the Health Department say it is worth several crores as the hospitals in the city were being upgraded to meet any emergency during the CWG, when lakhs of people are expected to visit the city.u00a0 The list of these hospitals includes all prominent names including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, GTB Hospital and several others.u00a0

The medical apparatus was to be used for emergency services, including cardiac failure, injuries, various functions in the OPD and Operation Theatre.u00a0 In a letter, a copy of which is with MiD DAY, Directorate of Health Services, Delhi, had written to all these hospitals not to accept any equipment from these two firms as they have shown their inability to provide the same.

The Other Side
Neither DHS director S Bhattacharjee nor any representative of the Life Line systems was available for a comment.