Shocking! ‘Special quality’ gloves bought for Rs 322/pair

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government officers and doctors involved in the procurement process to provide excellent and free medical services to the common man under the Nirogi Rajasthan Scheme are embezzling the budget allotted for the scheme.

One such case has recently come to light in a purchase made under Nirogi Rajasthan, where Rajasthan Medical Service Corporation Limited (RMSCL) purchased gloves worth Rs 110 crore, considering them as a special category.

Out of this, purchase of gloves worth Rs 10 crore has also been completed and that too from a specific company because such gloves are supplied by only that company.

Meanwhile, doctors at the state’s largest SMS Hospital say the quantity of gloves purchased is excessive. Efforts are now being made to distribute these gloves to other hospitals.

RMSCL procurement officials colluded to buy these surgical gloves at Rs 323 per pair, which is 10 times the normal price, from Molnlycke Health Care India Private Limited, based in Gurgaon, Haryana. Typically, surgical gloves used in surgeries cost between Rs 8 to Rs 20 per pair, and even less when bought in bulk.

If the gloves had been purchased at prevailing rates, the entire state could have been supplied for less than one crore.