The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, empowered to audit all receipts and expenditures from the Government of India and the state governments, has noticed serious lapses in the functioning of the Bihar government in various sectors. Especially, the CAG has highlighted the pathetic tale of medical education and patient’ troubles as a result of medical equipment in government hospitals in Bihar headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar.

According to the CAG report tabled on the floor of the State assembly a couple of days back, deficient monitoring and supervision of the Department and medical institutes resulted in “irregular admission, admission on false mark-sheets, admission through fraudulent practices and irregular admission beyond sanctioned seats” in Patna Medical College, Patna and Government Ayurvedic College, Begusarai.

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The report said the vacancies of physicians, AYUSH doctors, dentists and nurses per one lakh population has now ranged up to 92 percent. “Our audit found that against construction of 12 medical colleges taken up during 2006-07 to 2016-17, only two of them became functional till 2018 against the planned 61. The government of Bihar didn’t make effective efforts to increase seats of existing medical colleges,” the CAG report for the year ending on 31 March 2018 said.

The report added that the shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff in all streams of medical education has ranged from six to 56 percent and eight to 70 percent.The report also found significant deficiencies in infrastructure.

What, however, was found alarming was the severe shortage of medical equipment in five top medical colleges in the state, such as Patna Medical College, Nalanda Medical College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, all in Patna, Government Medical College, Bettiah and Darbhanga Medical College.

The report also found excess payment/inadmissible payments to the tune of Rs78.47 crore were made towards hiring security agencies, cleaning and house-keeping purposes in at least two medical colleges.

The CAG report further stumbled upon large-scale irregularities in the execution of chief minister’s “Seven Resolves” or “Saat Nischay” scheme.

“The progress of works under Mukhya Mantri Nischaya Yojana was not satisfactory in Siwan as only 15 to 24 percent of works were completed,” the report said. It also found irregular payment of Rs3.15 crore for acquisition of land for landfill site.

The report added that road construction works valued at Rs424.67 crore were started without obtaining technical sanctions in 13 packages while an excess payment of Rs3.57 crore was made on road marking work under three packages in Road Divisions, Madhubani and excess payment of Rs99.05 lakh in Road Division Motihari and Sitamarhi.