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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to...

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to ten times higher than prevailing market prices. Basic economics dictates that bulk government procurement ought to secure better rates than private buyers, not worse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, equipment and consumables were procured at five to ten times the market rate, with government audit reports formally flagging these irregularities. Yet accountability has remained elusive. The pattern is illustrated vividly in Kolhapur. The Dean of Rajarshi Shahu Government Medical College announced that a PET scan machine worth Rs 35 crore would soon be installed at Chhatrapati Pramilaraje (CPR) Government Hospital for cancer diagnosis. But a comparable machine is available in the market for around Rs 6.5 crore. A senior cancer surgeon at a major cancer hospital in western Maharashtra, where a similar machine was recently installed, remarked that the gap between what his hospital paid and what the government is reportedly paying was enough to make one ‘feel dizzy’. The label of a ‘turnkey project’ does not adequately explain a price differential of this magnitude. High Costs CPR Hospital recently had a state-of-the-art IVF centre approved at a sanctioned cost of Rs 7.20 crore. Senior fertility specialists across Maharashtra note that even a modern IVF centre with advanced reproductive technology equipment typically costs between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The state’s outlay is reportedly approaching Rs 15 crore. Equipment arrived in June 2025 and lay idle for months owing to indecision about the site. Similarly, digital X-ray machines approved for CPR Hospital and a government hospital in Nanded; available in the market for roughly Rs 1.5 crore; were reportedly procured at Rs 9.98 crore per unit. Doctors in CPR’s radiology department, apprehensive about being drawn into potential inquiries, reportedly resisted accepting the equipment. One departmental head was transferred amid disagreements over signing off on the proposal. What’s Wrong These cases point to a deeper structural failure: Maharashtra has perfected what might be called the ‘equipment first, infrastructure later’ model. In any public hospital, the administrative sequence ought to be: identify space, create infrastructure, sanction specialist posts, and only then procure equipment. Compounding the procurement paradox is a parallel policy decision. On 20 December 2025, the state government decided to introduce radiology diagnostic services through a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP). Following this, an order issued on 6 February 2026 authorised private operators to provide PET scan, MRI and CT scan services at six government medical college hospitals: in Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Sangli, Mumbai and Baramati. CPR already has a 126-slice CT scan machine and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, with another CT scan proposed. If the PPP arrangement proceeds, the hospital could simultaneously run one PET scan machine, two MRI scanners and three CT scan machines. Medical experts warn this could lead to unnecessary diagnostic testing simply to keep machines occupied, thus exposing patients to excess radiation while government-owned equipment gathers dust. A similar pattern was seen during the pandemic, when the Medical Education Department spent hundreds of crores on RT-PCR machines, only to award swab-testing contracts to a private company. Many of those machines remain unused today.

Do’s and Don’ts of Biocomposting

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Biocomposting

In my last week’s article, I had given a brief account of some of the activities of NGO Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal and about the green living consultancy. I hope that you have already started thinking about segregating your household waste and starting composting of the ‘wet’ waste in your own house. Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal is providing a container called “Magic Basket’ for this purpose. It’s a normal basket available in the market. But at PDM, they have made it ready for home composting. Name Magic Basket’ sounds interesting . Right? The reason is once you set up this basket and make it ready for composting, You will find that this basket will never ‘overflow’ with the waste your dumping in. How come? As we keep on dumping biodegradable or wet waste over and over again, it gets decomposed all by itself. So no matter how much volume of wet waste you add, it readily gets degraded into fine, granular compost which is your final product. You can then ‘harvest’ it and use it for your own plants, give it to your neighours.. and still there is surplus if remains, use it for your community garden.


With this, I wish you all the very best for your composting journey. Always remember, you are doing a great job and are contributing your bit for conservation of nature.


However, there are some precautions you have to take while taking up this composting project.


Do’s of biocomposting:

Mix greens and browns: Maintain a balanced ratio of nitrogen-rich 'green' materials (vegetable, fruit waste) with carbon-rich ‘brown; materials (leaves, cardboard) to facilitate proper decomposition.

Chop materials: Shred or chop larger materials like fruit peels, larger stalks of leafy vegetables, and similar components. This will provide greater surface area for those bacteria so as to speed up the composting process.

Keep it moist:

Regularly check the moisture level of your compost pile, ensuring it's damp but not soggy.

Turn the pile: Aerate your compost by turning it over with a fork every few weeks to allow oxygen to reach all parts of the pile.

Bury food scraps: When adding food scraps, cover them with a layer of brown material to prevent pests and odors.

Use a suitable compost bin: Choose a compost bin with adequate ventilation and drainage. This magic basket is quite suitable for this purpose.


Don’ts of biocomposting:

Add meat and dairy: Avoid adding meat, bones, dairy products, and fatty foods as they attract pests and decompose slowly.

Include pet waste: Do not compost pet feces or cat litter as they can contain harmful bacteria.

Add diseased plants: Avoid composting plant material with diseases or pests, as they can spread to healthy plants.

Compost treated wood: Do not add wood treated with chemicals or preservatives.

Use excessive amounts of citrus: While citrus peels can be composted, use them sparingly as their acidity can inhibit decomposition.

Add glossy paper or plastic: Avoid adding shiny paper, plastic, or stickers as they will not break down.

Over-compact the pile: Ensure your compost pile has adequate air circulation by not packing materials too tightly. For any queries and assistance regarding the Magic Baskets, please contact Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal at following numbers.


Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal Dombivali: 9833046634

Paryavaran Dakshata Mandal Thane: 9372358454


(The author is an environmentalist. Views personal.)

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