The NCP unit of Thane has raised questions over the terms and conditions of the tender floated for the operation of the medical store at Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital in Kalwa, Anand Paranjape has also sent a letter to the TMC Commissioner Dr.Vipin Sharma regarding the cancellation of the tender.
The Thane NCP's city president Anand Paranjape has alleged that the tender floated out by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) recently for renting out the medical store at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital for the operation is only for the purpose of benefiting the well-known medical establishments like Wellness and Noble and not the small medical dealers. Paranjape has also sent a letter to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Dr.Vipin Sharma for cancelling the tender.
Earlier on Wednesday night the Mahavikas Aghadi government housing minister Jitendra Ahwad tweeted about the tender from his Twitter account handle and raised questions over its terms and conditions.
Soon after the tweet the next day Anand Paranjape came into action and submitted a statement to TMC Chief and demanded the cancellation of the tender process.
Anand Paranjape while speaking with the media personnel said, "The clauses of the tenders are very stringent. The tender terms and conditions are kept such way that one who has 30 medical stores and a financial turnover of Rs 120 crore per annum from the last three years should come ahead for the tender. Only eight days are given to submit the tender. Under these conditions the small medical dealers will not be able to bid at all; only the big city-based medical dealers will be allowed to sell medicines to the poor in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa which is of the Thane Municipal Corporation's run hospital."
Paranjape further added, "The NCP thane unit for many years has been continuously demanding the improvement in the management of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital. The TMC's role is to provide better services to the poor patients who come here for treatment. The contract of the agency operating the medical stores at CSM hospital ended in 2011 and the store has been closed for the last 10 years. Also, there are many vacant posts that need to be fulfilled including doctors. Our party has insisted that the medical store should start on a priority basis which will be beneficial for the poor coming to take medicine at concessional rates. In the tender one clause is that if the party is going for Joint Venture (JV) then it should be done on a priority basis. Our party's stand is that even the general and small drug dealers should get an opportunity to bid for the tender."
The tender was announced on March 24, 2022 and on the same day the Chemists and Druggists Association, Kalwa informed the TMC Commissioner Dr.Vipin Sharma that the terms and conditions mentioned in the tender were oppressive and demanded to be changed.
"Our clear allegation is that the tender has been issued for the benefit of well-known pharmacies like Wellness and Noble and not for small medical store dealers. The small medical dealers will not be able to fulfill the demand mentioned in the tender therefore the TMC chief should cancel the tender process on a priority basis and should make a decision that will be beneficial for Thanekar. I request Dr.Vipin Sharma to visit the CSM Hospital in Kalwa and inspect the condition. If no action is taken then we will lodge a complaint with the government as well with the Anti Corruption Bureau regarding the medical store tender at CSM Hospital, Kalwa" concluded Anand Paranjape.
Even after several attempts, the Thane Municipal Commissioner Dr.Vipin Sharma was unavailable for comments.
