RIMS plunges into a sea of woes
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 12 2017: Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) which is fully funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India is now quite disoriented and it would have serious impacts on its health care services .

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was not monitoring RIMS properly and it was reluctant to sanction adequate funds during the past two years.

As a result, RIMS is now facing financial difficulties, sources informed .

Improper utilization of funds sanctioned by the Ministry for research purposes during the financial years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, discrepancies in procuring equipment, rising graph of corruption, large scale irregularities in recruitment which resulted in enquiry by CBI, raids conducted by CBI at the houses/quarters of top ranking officers and legal battles fought at Courts over different matters are the major factors which dissuaded the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from investing funds for development of RIMS .

RIMS plunges into a sea of woes

Flooded with innumerable mistakes, wrongdoings, discrepancies and anomalies, RIMS authority is not in a position to rectify or clarify each and every case.

On account of the past follies and wrongdoings, the incumbent RIMS authority does not have moral courage to say anything to the Ministry, informed the sources .

Earlier, executive council meetings and standing finance committee meetings were held at regular intervals for development of RIMS.

But these days, no such meetings are held .

Generally, agenda discussed at the executive council meetings were set by RIMS and all these agenda were for development of RIMS .

The 47th executive council meeting was held on December 19, 2016 at Delhi .

The meeting held at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's Nirman Bhavan mainly discussed about recruitment rules for appointment of a regular Director of RIMS and hiking stipends of BDS interns .

After the 47th executive council meeting, no such meeting has been held since then.

Chief Account Officer cum Financial Advisor had immense responsibility in organising executive council meetings but the incumbent Chief Account Officer cum Financial Advisor is no longer performing the assigned duties/responsibilities, conveyed the sources .

On the ground that IAS officers would be having limited knowledge about running a medical institute, there is a rule which says that no IAS officers should be appointed as Director of any medical college.

Subsequently, one MCS officer was appointed as Deputy Director to make up administrative lapses .

While IAS officer RK Dinesh who has been appointed as Director in-charge has left his station after entrusting the charge of Director-in-charge to Prof H Nabachandra of Forensic Medicine Department, the Deputy Director is not working .

It is not clear whether Prof H Nabachandra has been entrusted financial powers too.

It remains a big question who would authorise payment of salaries for the month of July if he is not given financial powers .

Likewise, many quarters have been asking who would authorise payment of pending liabilities, said the sources .

There has been no regular Director at RIMS since August 26, 2014.Even as the Ministry held DPC for appointment of a regular Director, a case was filed at the Court challenging the recruitment rules .

Later, the Court issued a directive asking the authority concerned to amend the recruitment rules and hold a fresh DPC .

Result of the DPC already held was withheld but no new process has been initiated so far for holding fresh DPC .

Meanwhile, some candidates who took part in the DPC filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking declaration of DPC result .

Given these controversies, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is no longer interested in appointing a regular Director of RIMS .

On the other hand, on account of all these controversies and administrative lapses, RIMS is fast becoming a dying medical college .

If the same situation persists any longer, its health care services may also be seriously affected, added the sources.