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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.

When the Lights Fade, the Glow Remains

The end of the festive season brings us back to our everyday rhythm lighter in spirit, renewed in energy, and quietly strengthened by the joy we’ve just lived.

The festive season always brings with it a special kind of magic — the streets come alive with shimmering lights, laughter fills our homes, and our hearts feel lighter and happier. For a few precious days or weeks, life slows down in the most beautiful way. We pause from our regular routines, take time to decorate our homes with care, prepare festive meals filled with love, exchange sweets and gifts, meet our loved ones, and celebrate with warmth, zest, and enthusiasm. It becomes a season not only of reflection, joy, and togetherness but also of gratitude and a renewed sense of hope.


But as every celebration must eventually find its close, the festive season too passes — leaving behind not emptiness, but a quiet, lingering glow. The diyas may have been extinguished and the decorations carefully packed away, yet the warmth and light they created continue to linger in our hearts. Gradually, the rhythm of life begins to change once more, calling us back to our everyday routines, our work, and our personal pursuits — but with spirits a little lighter and hearts still touched by the season’s joy.


There is always a certain stillness in this transition — a tender pause when we sense the silence after the songs and the calm that follows the celebrations. Yet it is within this quiet moment that the true essence of festivals reveals itself. Festivals are not simply meant to interrupt our routines; they are meant to restore and recharge us, to remind us of what truly matters, and to fill our hearts with renewed energy and purpose for the days to come.


Now, as the festive season draws to a close, we return to our everyday lives feeling sharper, lighter, and more focused. We have celebrated abundance — and now it is time to channel that renewed energy into growth and purpose. The joy we shared with our families, the laughter that echoed among friends, and the gratitude we felt during our prayers — all of it settles within us as a quiet strength, a gentle undercurrent that continues to guide and sustain us through the days ahead.


Returning to routine need not mean monotony. It is simply about finding our rhythm once again — waking up early, working with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, cooking simple meals after the festive indulgence, and spending unhurried evenings in reflection, reading, or simply sitting quietly with a cup of tea. The pace of life may have slowed, yet the joy can remain unchanged, as long as we carry a little of that festive spirit within us.


Every season and every celebration teaches us balance — the gentle harmony between pause and progress, between celebration and discipline. Festivals remind us to live with love, warmth, and light, while our daily routines teach us to grow with purpose, patience, and quiet determination. Together, they form the melody of a life that is both joyful and meaningful — one that moves gracefully between festivity and everyday peace.


So, as we ease back into our regular days, let us not lose the gentle glow of the festive season. Let us keep that warmth alive within our hearts, allowing it to shine through our words and actions. Each day can still be greeted with gratitude, every task performed with dedication, and every moment shared with the same joy and generosity of spirit that we felt during the celebrations.


The festivals may have drawn to a close, but life carries on — vibrant, hopeful, and full of promise. Let us welcome this gentle change of pace, embrace the new rhythm, and move forward with the same zest, enthusiasm, and quiet joy that the season of celebration brought into our lives.


Festivals may come and go, yet life itself is an endless celebration. Every day, every passing moment, is a precious gift from God. Gratitude has the power to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and when we choose to see the positive in each moment, every breath becomes a festival in itself. When we learn to live in this spirit, life forever feels radiant, joyful, and truly celebratory.


(The writer is a tutor based in Thane.)

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