Bhubaneswar: Former Union minister Srikant Jena has urged the Odisha government to come clean and bring out a white paper to clear doubts over the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits.
The Opposition has alleged rampant irregularities in the purchase of kits to combat COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday, Jena said it seems there has been a huge scam in the purchase of mask, PPE, sanitizers and gloves etc by the state procurement agency Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL).
Claiming that the purchase of these COVID essentials is totally non-transparent and has been done dubiously, he said the sudden removal of a senior IAS officer from the responsibility of procurement and nine other IAS officers in charge of COVID has confirmed the corruption aspect.
He urged the Chief Minister to provide details about the procurement price of the N95 and three-layer general masks, the agency from where the purchase was made and who certified the quality as directed by the ICMR and WHO.
“Besides, the cost of expenditure by the state government on COVID hospitals is also another important issue. Since some private hospitals are supported by the government, the details of financial support by the government and public sector undertakings have to be made public. All these details need to be in public knowledge. But they are not available on the website of the Health Department, Every citizen has a right to know about the truth and can legitimately ask the government for an answer. Therefore, in public interest, the government needs to answer all those questions satisfactorily,” he said.
Terming the statement of the Health minister asking people to go to the court of law in a threatening tone as most unfortunate, Jena said this not only reflects the arrogance of the government but also speaks volumes of its dangerous mindset.
“In this hour of human tragedy, no one should politicise the issue. But asking a question about corruption in the purchase of PPE kits is not politics. Instead of clarifying the issue, the government is trying to keep it under wraps and using its political arm to avoid the core subject. I hope the government will come out with a white paper immediately in the public interest,” he pointed out.
Jena also expressed grave concern over the COVID-19 tests which is going on at a very slow pace due to non-availability of test kits, trained healthcare workers and insufficient laboratory facilities.
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