JOIN USRs 40 cr lab machine not used for 6 yrs in clinic
In another manifestation of mindless wastage of public money, a pathological testing machine procured by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi six years ago is still lying unused in Rajouri Garden clinic of the South Corporation.
Reason: The civic body did not have an operator then, nor does it have one even today.
The auto blood analyser that cost the corporation around Rs 40 lakh, is lying unpacked in the corporation clinic and has almost turned into scrap. Its warranty period has already expired.
The matter came to light after BJP councillor and leader of the House Subhash Arya visited the clinic in his constituency.
“When I visited I enquired about one of the sealed containers lying in one of the rooms of the clinic. I was told that it was an auto blood analyser machine, which could not be used as there was no operator to handle it. It is a sheer waste of public money,” said Arya.
Why it was bought
The machine was procured by the health department of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi to upgrade the polyclinic into a diabetes centre. However, the project failed to see the light of the day.
The machine is gathering dust and has not been used even for a single day.
Seeking action against the officials concerned, Arya raised the issue in the standing committee meeting of the South Corporation on Tuesday.
While the officials failed to give a satisfactory reply as to why the machine was procured when there was no operator for it, they said all the six lab technicians who were hired by the MCD were transferred to Hindu Rao Hospital.
“The six technicians were to be divided among the three corporations. However, they were transferred to North Corporation after they requested for transfer as Hindu Rao Hospital was being upgraded,” a health department official said.
Municipal commissioner Manish Gupta, however, said he was not a party to any such decision and action will be taken against those responsible for it.