BMC tender scam: Trust hired BAMS, BHMS docs instead of MBBS, pocketed salary difference

V N Desai hospital in Santacruz

The Jeevan Jyot Charitable Trust benefited from outsourcing the ICCU/TICU and EMS of BMC peripheral hospitals, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) imposed a penalty of only Rs 100 per day for doctors who failed to report to work, while the trust received Rs 2,200 per bed per day.

Additionally, the trust hired BAMS and BHMS doctors for half the salary of MBBS doctors, allowing them to pocket the remaining funds. This has raised concerns about the tender process conducted by the BMC, indicating the possible involvement of officials and external forces.

According to a BMC health expert, the Jeevan Jyot Charitable Trust was selected as the service provider for providing intensivist services for ICU units at three civic-run peripheral hospitals: MM Malviya Hospital in Govandi (MICU and TICU - 20 beds), K.M.J Phule Hospital in Vikhroli (MICU - 10 beds), and M T Agarwal Hospital in Mulund (EMS & ICCU - 25 beds). The contract, valued at R8.83 crore, was in effect from May 17, 2018, to May 16, 2020.

The ICU ward on the 2nd floor of BMC-run V N Desai hospital

However, the trust violated the terms of the contract by hiring non-allopathic doctors (BHMS/BAMS) who were not registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council, instead of qualified MD (Medicine)/MBBS doctors as required. Despite numerous complaints from patients' relatives, the trust managed to secure an extension until October 2022.

MICU without doctor

The then Senior Medical Officer of V N Desai hospital in his letter dated September 24, 2022, highlighted an incident at V N Desai hospital about the lack of doctors in the MICU, where two Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) left the hospital at 8 am without a reliever, leaving critical patients unattended. The tender required each shift to have at least one MBBS and one MD doctor.

Win-win situation

The tender specified that each shift should have two doctors: one MBBS and one MD. The trust received a payment of Rs 2,200 per bed per day, totalling Rs 22,000 per day for the 10 beds in V N Desai MICU. If the trust had hired an allopathic MD doctor, they would have to be paid in the range of Rs 1.5-R2 lakh monthly, and an MBBS doctor would be paid between Rs 60,000 to Rs 90,000 per month. However, the trust chose to hire non-allopathic doctors at half the rate, aiming to save costs, said the BMC health expert.

According to the tender clause, the fine for a doctor's absence was only R100 per bed. Even if the trust didn't send a single doctor, the fine would amount to only Rs 6,000 per day (Rs 100 x 2 doctors x 10 beds x 3 shifts). So, even in the absence of doctors, the BMC would end up paying Rs 16,000 per day to the trust, despite the tender contract amounting to Rs 8.30 crore for two years. "This suggests possible influence on tender clauses by senior BMC officials and external forces," said a BMC health expert demanding an external inquiry to uncover such irregularities.

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, a trustee of the Watchdog Foundation, criticised the corrupt practices within the BMC and suggested involving the Enforcement Directorate to investigate frauds committed by corrupt politicians and officials. "The BMC, in recent years, has become a cash cow for corrupt officials," he said.

Legal expert speaks

Advocate Floyd Gracias, Counsel, Supreme Court, remarked, "It is astonishing to read that the BMC has accepted/extended the tender of a vendor-trust, which is operating out of an ICU ward of a municipal hospital. It is concerning that the penalty clause, as highlighted in your article, is much lower than the remuneration per day, thereby making it more lucrative to not send doctors. An external enquiry ought to be initiated to ascertain how such private activity can be carried out on BMC property."

Rs 8.83 cr
The total cost of the contract

Rs 22,000
Amount the trust rceived per day