Allocation slashed, RIMS staff likely to suffer
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 06 2014:
As budget allocation for RIMS for the current financial year is too small, employees of RIMS as well as the medical college may not get monthly salaries in time.
Notably, RIMS has been already taken over by the Union Ministry of Health, with a view to develop it as one of best hospitals of the country.
Monthly salaries of employees and maintenance funds are provided by the Ministry of Health in the form of annual budget allocation after taking into account revenue earned by RIMS.
For the current financial year, RIMS proposed a budget of Rs 400 crore but the Ministry of Health finalized a budget of just Rs 150 crore.
Well placed sources informed that the budget allocation of Rs 150 crore is not enough to pay even monthly salaries of RIMS employees.
Even though the first week of May is almost over, salaries for the month of April have not been paid.
Nonetheless, salary cheques are being prepared for submission to UBI RIMS branch where the cheques would be deposited in the personal accounts of employees.
But the cheques have not been signed by the Chief Accounts Officer and the Director.
As such, RIMS employees are likely to get the salary of April latter than the usual dates.
One major factor for the Ministry of Health to slash the budget allocation is lack of financial discipline on the part of RIMS authority, said the sources.
Annual budget meeting for RIMS was held at the Ministry of Health in December last year.
At the meeting, officials of the Ministry inquired about the irregularities in payment of salaries to contract employees but RIMS authority could not give any satisfactory answer.
In accordance with the financial rules, RIMS authority is empowered to spend Rs one crore in a month.
But RIMS authority is apparently more interested in development of physical infrastructure.
The Ministry is also suspicious about RIMS authority indulging in excessive graft practices at the time of recruitment of staff.
Again, RIMS authority sanctioned more than Rs one crore in two phases within a month for purchasing dental chairs.
These are some other factors which influenced the Ministry of Health to fix the annual budget allocation at a much lower figure compared to the amount proposed by RIMS authority, the sources said.
Moreover, the Ministry of Health has an intention to take up some visible action against RIMS authority for financial indiscipline, recruitment imbroglios some of which have reached Courts, CBI investigation into the controversy over procuring dental chairs, defiance of the Ministry's recommendation and inordinate delay in appointment of a regular MS ent and the resultant debate in the Assembly.