Trust hired BAMS, BHMS docs instead of MBBS, pocketed salary difference

The Jeevan Jyot Charitable Trust benefited from outsourcing the ICCUTICU 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 2200 per bed per dayAdditionally 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 forcesAccording 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 civicrun peripheral hospitals MM Malviya Hospital in Govandi MICU and TICU 20 beds KMJ Phule Hospital in Vikhroli MICU 10 beds and M T Agarwal Hospital in Mulund EMS amp ICCU 25 beds The contract valued at R883 crore was in effect from May 17 2018 to May 16 2020The ICU ward on the 2nd floor of BMCrun V N Desai hospitalHowever the trust violated the terms of the contract by hiring nonallopathic doctors BHMSBAMS who were not registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council instead of qualified MD MedicineMBBS doctors as required Despite numerous complaints from patientsrsquo relatives the trust managed to secure an extension until October 2022MICU without doctorThe 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 doctorWinwin situationThe tender specified that each shift should have two doctors one MBBS and one MD The trust received a payment of Rs 2200 per bed per day totalling Rs 22000 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 15R2 lakh monthly and an MBBS doctor would be paid between Rs 60000 to Rs 90000 per month However the trust chose to hire nonallopathic doctors at half the rate aiming to save costs said the BMC health expertAccording to the tender clause the fine for a doctorrsquos absence was only R100 per bed Even if the trust didnrsquot send a single doctor the fine would amount to only Rs 6000 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 16000 per day to the trust despite the tender contract amounting to Rs 830 crore for two years ldquoThis suggests possible influence on tender clauses by senior BMC officials and external forcesrdquo said a BMC health expert demanding an external inquiry to uncover such irregularitiesAdvocate 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 ldquoThe BMC in recent years has become a cash cow for corrupt officialsrdquo he saidLegal expert speaksAdvocate Floyd Gracias Counsel Supreme Court remarked ldquoIt is astonishing to read that the BMC has acceptedextended the tender of a vendortrust 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 propertyrdquoRs 883 crThe total cost of the contractRs 22000Amount the trust rceived per day