The CBI probe into the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has revealed that medicines, worth `1,000 crores supplied in 72 districts in the state under the Centrally-sponsored programme, were allegedly procured from some unauthorised manufacturers also.
Sources in the agency said, “Certain public sector drug manufacturing companies, located in West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, have denied having supplied drugs in Uttar Pradesh under the NRHM programme.”
The agency officials called top representatives of drug manufacturers (PSU), who were shown as medicine suppliers in the state by some former officials of the UP administration, for clarification, sources said adding that they denied having supplied drugs as claimed by the accused.
“There are suspicion that some sub-standard drugs were also supplied in the state under the programme by the accused officials. It’s being further probed. The agency is also trying to ascertain the identity of the manufacturers who actually supplied drugs in the state,” sources said.
Role of some NGOs is also under the scanner in this regard, sources added.
Sources further said, “Role of some NGOs, who supplied medicines in rural areas of certain districts, including Kanpur, Mirzapur, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varansai, Aligarh and Allahabad, is being probed by the CBI. The agency officials are also collecting documents related to the procurement of certain drugs from the offices of seven chief medical officers in the state.”
Meanwhile, the CBI is set to register three more FIRs related to the NRHM scam in a day or two.
The fresh FIRs will be registered against some NGOs, drug distributors and organisations involved in opening of the telemedicine centres under the Centrally-sponsored programme in the state. Certain NGOs, registered between 2008 and 2010 in Uttar Pradesh, are under the scanner of the agency.
“There are allegations that some NGOs in the state did not utilise the funds properly released under the NRHM programme. The agency has identified such NGOs. These NGOs are mainly based in Ghaziabad, Noida, Moradabad and Kanpur,” sources said.