BHUBANESWAR: The state government has dissolved the Odisha Pharmacy Council (OPC) following allegations of financial irregularities and improper management. Members of OPC have been barred from attending any meeting of the council.
The action was taken after an enquiry by the Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET), who had recommended dissolving the council and conducting a fresh election. He had enquired into the irregularities, reasons for the pendency of registration certificates, improper management of the council and intentional delay in process of registration of applicants from different parts of the state.
After dissolving the council, the state government has decided to nominate five members soon to make the council functional. Of the five members, three must possess a minimum M Pharm qualification. This apart, three ex-officio members and a member of the state medical council will also be nominated to the pharmacy council.A special audit will also be conducted to find out irregularities and actions will be taken against the erring officials and members of the council based on the report of the special audit as per law.
A senior official of the Health department said the current registration system will be dissociated from drugs control administration as early as possible and foolproof registration software for the council with an online payment system made available for registration of pharmacy pass students as well as their renewals.
The registrar-cum-secretary of the council will form a committee with the experts from OCAC or NIC in consultation with the officers of DMET and directorate of health services to prepare an updated software system for registration and renewals, he said.