Mahiti Hakku Jagruti Vedike(MHJV), an association of Right to Information activists have presented a memorandum to the Karnataka governor on the prevalence of corrupt practices in the Karnataka Directorate of AYUSH.
MHJV represented by JSD Pani, who is the secretary of Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association, has brought to the notice of the head of State the prevalence of bad governance and corrupt practices.
The statement by MHJV, with reference No. 'HE:01:2007' dated July 19,2007, said that in the wake of the Union government's support to Indian System of Medicine Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, the Karnataka Directorate of AYUSH coming under the Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare, has failed to take full advantage of the grants and aids sanctioned to promote the science in the State. Instead the Directorate has become totally corrupt and inefficient leading to administrative lapses.
"The Directorate requires a total revamp. We are not listing out all the administrative lapses and corrupt practices because, these will be exposed once the Administrative Audit and Performance Audit are taken up by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India," stated the memorandum.
"One example of bad governance is the recommendation of promotion to undergraduate (B.S.A.M) Assistant Professors as Professors much against the rules framed by the Central Council of Indian Medicine. Irony is that these Assistant Professors were given opportunity by the Government to go for post graduation at the Government cost and failed to qualify themselves as Post Graduates. If such promotions are accorded by the Government Ayurveda colleges what could be expected by the Private Ayurveda Colleges. They also follow suit and the standard and quality of Doctors rolling out of these colleges are sure to deteriorate.
The directorate calls for tender for supply of medicines to the hospitals and dispensaries spread all over the State. Huge amount of funds exchange hands between suppliers and officials which will have a direct impact on the quality of drugs supplied, pointed out Pani in the statement.
The Mahiti Hakku Jagruti Vedike requested the Karnataka Governor to advise the State Government to upgrade the Directorate to a Commissionerate by posting a secretary of IAS officer grade as commissioner, directorate of AYUSH on similar lines of the Andhra Pradesh which already has a full-fledged has AYUSH Commissionerate and functioning efficiently.
The Memorandum has also asked the Head of State to direct the state Government to order an Administrative / Performance Audit from CAG and also to evaluate the utilization of funds allocated to the Directorate by the State and Central Government.