Rights Panel Raps Health Department

SHRC held the Health Department responsible for not implementing GO regarding the appointment of Special Officer and Special Officer (technical)
Rights Panel Raps Health Department

KOCHI:  Dealing the health department another blow over the delay in the commencement of work for the Kochi Cancer Centre and Research Institute, State Human Rights Commission held it responsible for not implementing the government’s plan.

In its sitting here the other day, the Commission chairman J B Koshy said that the government order for appointing Special Officer and Special Officer (technical) came three months ago, but the roles and responsibilities of these officials are yet to be specified.

Posting the case for January 11, 2016, the chairman had asked the Chief Secretary and the Health Secretary to provide all the details of the case pertaining to the work done so far. In a letter to the Commission, the special officers pointed out that without the necessary GO, all the files regarding the cancer centre have to be moved through the Health Department.

One of the most important government orders required was to get the cancer centre registered as a Society on the lines of the Regional Cancer Society, Thiruvananthapuram.

However, it was said in the letter that the Health department had to come out with a third GO after the Finance department found fault with the first two GOs pointing them out to be incomplete.

Since the Special officers are not part of the Society that will be formed, various department secretaries, including the Health Secretary had to make the necessary move to register it.

The request for creating special account to receive the `10 crore provided by the Excise department was sanctioned one-and-a-half months ago, the letter said. In its past sittings as well the Commission had came out heavily against the state government for the delay in setting up the Kochi Cancer Centre and Research Institute and asked it to submit the plan of action for the same. Earlier  the Commission had directed the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit in the case two weeks ago. In the affidavit filed it was said that Hospital Services Consultancy Centre has been preparing the DPR for the institute. The department also surprisingly materialised its plan to start the OP unit of the Institute at Kalamassery govt medical college in November.

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