The Central Bureau Of Investigation has registered a fresh case in the NRHM scam, this one related to the alleged selective appointments of over 100 chief medical officers in 72 districts by the then ministers in collusion with private contractors.
According to CBI sources, this was done to ensure that all major contracts were given to people close to them. For the appointment of each CMO, a sum of `15 lakh-`20 lakh was allegedly given to the then minister for family welfare Babu Singh Kushwaha and health minister Anant Misra by middlemen with stakes in supplies in the medical and health sectors.
The CBI has also discovered during investigations that Babu Singh Kushwaha and Pradeep Shukla were responsible for the bifurcation of the health and family welfare department since major contracts under the NRHM schemes came under the family welfare sector. This bifurcation was in violation of norms laid down by the Central government. The agency, after registering a case against former MLAs and former officials carried out searches at the residence of Anant Misra in Lucknow and Kanpur on Saturday and seized incriminating documents.