The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Karnataka legislature has severely indicted the previous BJP government for under-reporting over 1.2 lakh Covid-related deaths and for irregularities in the procurement of equipment and medicines. B S Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister during the pandemic and K Sudhakar the Health Minister.
Based on the data from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), the committee concluded that the Department of Health and Family Welfare committed a “heinous crime” by under-reporting deaths. The DES reported 4,26,943 deaths between January and July 2021, while that number was 2,69,029 between January and July 2020, both periods when Covid was raging. While 1,57,914 more deaths were reported during the more severe second wave of the pandemic in 2021, the government only declared 37,206 Covid deaths. Not only did it result in false numbers from the government, it also resulted in denial of the compensation it announced for the families of the deceased. Accusing the Health Department of indulging in serious irregularities, the committee pointed out that it procured 1.10 crore Ivermectin tablets even after the World Health Organisation (WHO) had advised against its use in the treatment of Covid. Similarly, 25,000 amphotericin vials were purchased at a higher cost, ignoring the price quoted by the lowest bidder.
The PAC has also cited many instances of medical equipment being purchased at inflated prices and repeat orders being sanctioned to companies that had previously failed to meet their contractual obligations to supply materials. About 165 ventilators given to Karnataka under the PM-Cares fund were given to private hospitals when they should have been given to government healthcare facilities at the taluk and district levels which were in dire need of them. Accusing bureaucrats of total mismanagement, the PAC said the second wave of the pandemic was marked by non-availability of ventilators, medical devices, oxygen, and medicines. The committee has called for an independent inquiry into these lapses and charges of corruption.
The committee’s findings are no doubt grave in nature, but it should also be borne in mind that certain procedures had to be relaxed in view of the emergency situation. Thus, officers who acted in good faith should not be unnecessarily harassed. In cases where corruption is clear, the government should act against the then political leadership, too, as the bureaucracy would have only followed their instructions. The government should also identify the families of those whose deaths were not recorded and pay the compensation that is due to them. While an independent inquiry should be conducted to bring out the truth and identify the guilty, it should not be reduced to vendetta politics.