Terming the Registration Tribunals for Pharmacists in certain states and union territories unwanted, the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department Retired Officers Association (DCROA) has demanded abolition of those Tribunals and deletion of sections 30,31, 32A and 32B from the Pharmacy Act.

The association will be submitting a memorandum to the union health minister, health secretary and the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) raising these demands, said C V Ramiah, president of DCROA.

The former drug regulators wanted the PCI to take steps to strike out sections 30, 31, 32A and 32B from the Pharmacy Act, which allow unqualified people to register as pharmacists with the Tribunals producing letters from traders showing experience in drug sales. They alleged that PCI was keeping mum on this injustice even after 20 years have passed after implementing the pharmacy education regulation (ER 1991).

Registration Tribunals for Pharmacists are functioning in certain states and in union territories in place of state pharmacy councils and a secretary is in charge of registrar. UTs like Andaman, Dadra & Nager Haveli, Kavaratti, Daman-Diu, and states like Sikkim, Manipur and Jharkhand have registration tribunals under secretaries. The states where the Tribunals are functioning, the registrars’ charges are held by directors of health services.

Ramiah said, separate tribunals have been made in the newly formed states to regulate the pharmacy profession and the education with the permission of the Central Pharmacy Council. The PCI has permitted this with a view to solve the shortage of pharmacists. He said currently there is no shortage of qualified pharmacists in the country as more than  ten thousand qualified pharmacists are coming out of all the educational institutions in the country. When all the state governments are appointing doctors and nurses, why are they not appointing pharmacists, he asked.

To a question, he said there are 682 D. Pharm approved institutions and 821 B. Pharm approved institutions in India. Each of  these institutions are producing 60 diploma holders and 60 graduates every year. All the degree colleges are conducting PG courses and 120 colleges have Pharm D courses also.

According to Ramiah, the provision of registration with Tribunals is being misutilised as a back-door entry option in order to attain registration for the unqualified persons and work as  registered pharmacists. He alleged that the PCI is downplaying the significance of the matter or deliberately closing their eyes.

When Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India (DCI) and Nursing Council of India (NCI) have no provisions for Registration Tribunals, why does Pharmacy Council alone need such provisions for creating fake pharmacists, asked Ramiah.

He said only section 32 (2) of the pharmacy act should be allowed for registration of pharmacists as education regulation 1991 is already in effect.

Accusing PCI, Ramiah said, after 1991, the sections favouring registration with Tribunals should have been deleted, but PCI has not taken any action towards it.

Stressing that traders are in favour of Tribunals, the association alleged that in certain states, the pharmacy councils are governed by the leaders of chemists & druggists associations and even now they want to retain Tribunals for the sake of their trade.