The Karnataka government severely underreported the number of COVID-19 deaths that occurred during the first half of 2020 and 2021 by 1.20 lakh, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the state legislature said. Tabling the report in the Karnataka Assembly on Monday, July 17, the committee heavily criticised the handling of COVID-19 by the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DHFW).
The committee said medical equipment was purchased at inflated prices, medicine orders were not fulfilled by companies which had won the bids for supply and medicines were procured even when there was no need to do so. The committee called for severe action against the concerned officers of the department and also called for an independent inquiry into the matter.
First led by Congress Minister HK Patil in 2020 and later by Minister Ramalinga Reddy, the committee was formed to look into allegations of embezzlement and corruption in the procurement of drugs and medical equipment related to COVID-19. During the pandemic, the Karnataka government was headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the helm of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and K Sudhakar as the Health Minister.
Covid deaths: While criticising the Health Department for underreporting deaths due to COVID-19, the committee also found that deaths in Bengaluru were higher compared to other cities. “Bengaluru city has a very high death rate, which is much higher than other big cities. There are departmental errors in the treatment system in the state like delay in detecting infected patients, testing capacity, delay in issuing test reports, lack of medicine and lack of oxygen.”
The committee said that the data obtained from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics showed a death toll of 2,69,029 from January to July 2020 and 4,26,943 deaths from January to July 2021, pointing to an increase of 1,57,914. “The alarming fact is that the officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department have provided wrong information that the number of deaths was only 37,206. The committee feels that the officials have committed a heinous crime in understating the death toll of around 1,20,708.” The committee recommended that the families of the deceased should be identified and efforts must be made to provide them compensation.
Ivermectin: The committee found that the Department had gone ahead and purchased large quantities of the tablet ivermectin recommended for the treatment of COVID-19. The PAC said that though the World Health Organisation issued a warning on the use of ivermectin pill in March 2021 and stated that it had no benefit in treating COVID-19 patients, the Department ignored it. In April 2021, just after WHO issued the warning, the Department purchased 1.10 crore tablets. No details of the amount spent for purchasing, and where it was distributed in the state were given to the PAC. Further, no efforts were made to return the drug. The PAC recommended punishing the officials, who ignored the warning and continued to recommend it as a mode of treatment to unsuspecting patients.
Ventilators distribution: About 165 ventilators given to Karnataka under the PM Cares fund were distributed to private hospitals. The PAC said that this allocation was completely unjustified. The private hospitals used these ventilators on needy patients without providing any exemption for the cost. These officers colluded with private hospitals and neglected the public interest, the committee said.
“The department could have provided ventilators in district and taluk hospitals to government hospitals, but giving them to private hospitals is not reasonable. Many private hospitals have extorted money from the public at high rates without following the price list fixed by the Department for the treatment of COVID-19 and in some cases they have demanded more money to return the dead bodies to their relatives,” the committee said.
It further pointed out that when the second wave of COVID-19 disrupted the lives of the people of the entire state, the shortages that stood out clearly were the non-availability of ventilators, non-availability of oxygen and non-availability of remedial devices. “Despite such a serious situation, the committee expresses its deep anger that the officials in their reply to the committee have given wrong information that there was no shortage of ventilators in the government hospitals of the state.”
Mismanagement in purchasing equipment: In the purchase of equipment like Rapid Antigen Test kits, Blood Cell Counters and UPS, the committee found that the Department bought equipment at a higher cost compared to other states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. It also found that there was no transparency in procurement, bids placed without knowing the actual requirements for some equipment, not blacklisting firms who fulfilled only part of the orders placed, and placing orders with companies whose products were found defective when tested. Even the tenders placed for running the Apthamitra helpline for COVID-19 patients were said to be irregular. The PAC also alleged mismanagement in the allocation of beds to patients.
Amphotericin and Remdesivir: The PAC found that the Department placed orders for the purchase of 25,000 amphotericin vials used in the treatment of mucormycosis (black fungus) with the second lowest bidder Mylan Pharmaceuticals, for a higher cost. This was after placing an order for 50,000 vials from Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd at a lower cost. “ No documents were furnished to prove that the more expensive version was brought after waiving KTPP because cases were increasing and it was not available on the open market. Of the 50,000 vials ordered from Bharat Serums and Vaccines, they supplied only 1,092 vials saying they did not have the capacity to produce more. No attempts were made to make sure they fulfilled their orders,” the PAC noted.
It also criticised the Department for purchasing at a higher cost and failing to stop its sale on the black market. The committee also pointed out that it failed to get documents and information from the Department pertaining to many of the purchases that were made during COVID-19.