MAPUSA
Health Minister on Thursday said that he was not much concerned about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report if the objective of the decisions was for the greater good of the public.
He also said that his department will reply to the queries raised by the CAG and clear the issue.
“I am one person who defies all logic. If something is done for the benefit of the society then I will stand by the decision. I will not get scared because of the CAG or BAG or any G,” the health minister said, who appeared visibly annoyed.
As reported by The Goan, the CAG in its statutory audit inspection report had flagged the Goa Medical College and Hospital for two of its outsourcing deals – the hospital kitchen to Sodexo Food Solutions India Pvt Ltd and the in-house pharmacy to M/s Wellness Forever Medicare Pvt Ltd.
The statutory report had flagged a Rs 3.74 crore avoidable loss on procurement of medicines and other material by Wellness Forever. It also questioned “excess expenditure” of Rs 1.29 crore due to “faulty tendering”, another excess payment of Rs 19.11 lakh for dietary charges and a Rs 2.41 crore loss of revenue due to non-levy of rent and penalty in the case of Sodexo.
The health minister stated that Goa was the only state which was providing free medicines to the people including the treatment for cancer and chemotherapy.
“If the decision taken helps the society then it serves the purpose. My objective is that people of Goa should benefit from the government funds. People of Goa should benefit from whatever treatment we are giving,” he said.
He said his department would definitely reply to queries raised by the CAG. “Flagging of some issues does not mean you don’t have an opportunity to reply. We will reply and clear it off,” he said.
