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Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Minister K Muraleedharan on Sunday ordered a departmental inquiry into major procurements made by the health department over the past 10 years.

The decision follows reports that expensive medical equipment was found lying unused in hospitals and medical colleges.

The state health minister said the inquiry would cover purchases made using Plan funds and PMSSY funds, as well as medical equipment supplied by the Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, he said the decision followed complaints received by the government and his recent visit to Wayanad Medical College, where equipment worth crores, including mobile mortuaries, was found lying unused in a warehouse.

Muraleedharan said many of the machines had remained unused for so long that it was doubtful whether they could still be put to use.

He said it was necessary to find out why such purchases were made when the department was facing financial constraints in hiring staff and buying medicines.

The minister said allegations that some procurements were aimed at earning commissions needed to be examined. At the same time, he urged that the issue should not be politicised.

He cited several instances of alleged waste, including an autoclave machine lying exposed to the elements outside the Super Speciality Block of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

He also said two oxygen concentrators supplied during the Covid-19 pandemic were lying non-functional at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, even as the government continued to spend lakhs of rupees on oxygen procurement.

Muraleedharan further said a 100 kW solar power plant installed at the District Model Hospital in Peroorkada had not been connected to the grid, while a generator purchased for the hospital had remained unused for years.

He said the inquiry would seek to identify similar cases across all 14 districts.

After the departmental inquiry, the finance department would examine the financial aspects, and any irregularities detected would be referred to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, he added.