Despite chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's assurance six months ago in this regard, a grievance redressal committee to address and solve the issues of the pharmacists in the state is yet to be formed by the department of medical education and drugs of the state government.

More than 75,000 chemist shops in Maharashtra, including the nearly 6,000 shops in Mumbai, were up in arms against the alleged harassment of the traders by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on several issues including the strict enforcement of Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act, 1940 by the FDA which mandates the presence of a qualified pharmacist (B Pharm) to be present in the shop at all times while dispensing drugs.

The traders were also annoyed over the FDA’s directive to maintain detailed records of drugs dispensed for abortion and tuberculosis, saying it is ‘too much paperwork’ for the chemists. An agitated traders resorted to several agitations including bandh during the last one year.

As the traders' agitations reached its crescendo, the chief minister also intervened on the issue and it was decided to form a grievance redressal committee to address the issues raised by the pharmacists in the state.

Says Anil Navandar, secretary, Maharashtra State Chemists and Druggists Association (MSCDA), "High Court has also taken a serious view of the fact that the state government has also not been able to take periodic meetings with the chemist associations to address their issues and form a grievance redressal committee."

Meanwhile, a meeting to this effect was held in the first week of January this year under the chairmanship of Medical Education and Drugs Secretary Meeta Lochan which saw the participation of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials and members of MSCDA. The meeting did not take any final decision on the formation of a grievance redressal committee. The meeting also discussed issues related to the prescription guidelines which need to be framed and followed by physicians working in government healthcare institutions.

"State FDA which has been conducting raids and canceling licenses should also take into consideration emergency situations when a patient needs the medicine and there is no possibility of consulting a physician. Law does not permit risking a patient's life in the name of prescription," added Navandar.

Around 5000 drug licenses were canceled across Maharashtra in 2013 as compared to 3000 the previous year due to strict enforcement of D&C Rules.

Pharmacists are of the view that a proper healthcare infrastructure should be in place to implement the D&C Act in the true spirit of the law with onus not only on pharmacists but also on physicians.