Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan on Monday ordered a comprehensive investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into alleged irregularities in furniture purchases for government Ayurveda hospitals, after rejecting a Health Department Principal Secretary's recommendation that a Finance Department enquiry would suffice, according to IANS and Nation Press/Daily Kiran reports. The probe will primarily focus on P.R. Saji, former State Programme Manager of the National AYUSH Mission.

At the Government Ayurveda Hospital in Pinarayi, Kannur, furniture worth Rs 11.45 lakh (yaani about eleven and a half lakh rupees) was allegedly purchased before construction of the hospital building was completed. Alleged irregularities have also been detected in large-scale furniture purchases at government Ayurveda hospitals in Mattannur, Chalakudy and Venganoor, allegedly in violation of prescribed rules — all allegations are under investigation and no wrongdoing has been established.

The order adds to widening scrutiny of health-sector procurement: in July the minister ordered a departmental enquiry into major medical equipment purchases over the past 10 years after reports that expensive equipment, including mobile mortuaries, lay unused; in August, alleged irregularities in KMSCL's bleaching-powder purchase, involving a reported potential unnecessary expenditure of Rs 7.32 crore (yaani over seven crore rupees), were referred to the Vigilance Bureau, and a Vigilance enquiry was also sought into alleged irregularities at Oushadhi, the state-owned Ayurvedic pharmaceutical company.

The findings will determine whether procedural lapses or financial misconduct occurred.

Sources: IANS, Nation Press/Daily Kiran.