BHUBANESWAR: Faced with mounting criticism over safety standards in public healthcare facilities and a paralysed Assembly on the issue, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday ordered the suspension of four officials for alleged negligence linked to the devastating fire incident at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack that claimed 12 lives on March 16.
Those placed under suspension include deputy fire officer, Cuttack circle, Prakash Kumar Jena, assistant fire officer, Cuttack circle, Sanjeeb Kumar Behera, station officer, SCB MCH, Abhinab Prusty and assistant executive engineer Ranjan Kumar Biswal of the SCB sub-division under General Electrical Department (GED). Curiously, the medical college and hospital authorities have escaped scrutiny.
The decision to suspend four officials pending a judicial inquiry into the incident, however, is being viewed as a knee-jerk reaction, taken under intense political pressure. The timing of the action has raised serious questions about due process and intent. What has surprised many is that the suspensions were ordered even as the state government had already constituted a judicial inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and fix responsibility.
The apparent haste in penalising officials before the conclusion of the judicial probe has led to concerns about prejudgment. Legal and administrative experts point out a key question, “What happens if the judicial commission ultimately does not find these four officers at fault? The government may then face embarrassment and questions over arbitrary action.”
Equally baffling is the government’s reliance on a preliminary fact-finding report by development commissioner DK Singh to justify such strong disciplinary measures. Typically, such reports are meant for internal assessment and not for determining punitive action in cases of this magnitude, especially when a formal judicial inquiry is already underway, official sources said.
Interestingly, the panel is not done with fact-finding and scheduled to meet at Cuttack on Thursday.
The chief minister, who rushed to the hospital immediately after the mishap, announced a judicial probe and declared an ex-gratia of `25 lakh for the families of the deceased. He later constituted a six-member fact-finding team headed by Singh to submit a report by Monday evening about the cause of the fire accident. While these steps were seen as prompt and appropriate, the subsequent suspensions appear to reflect a government on the defensive amid escalating political heat.
Meanwhile, as expected, the BJD accused the state government of shifting responsibility by making junior officials a scapegoat. Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said a fair and transparent investigation should have been conducted before taking action against the officials and letting the higher ups go scot free.
Stating that suspension of the four officials is nothing but a diversionary tactic of the government, Mohanty reiterated that Mahaling should take moral responsibility and resign or else he should be removed from office.
Mohanty said serious questions also arise on the failure of critical fire safety systems, including non-functional sprinklers and alarms, as well as whether the mandated fire safety audit report has been submitted before the Orissa High Court of Orissa.
“All these issued should be thoroughly examined. The action taken so far is merely an eyewash. The BJD demands stringent action against all responsible authorities to ensure justice and accountability,” Mohanty added.