D’Cunha commission raps officials for procuring expired RT-PCR test kits

Commission report reveals Karnataka's mismanagement of COVID-19 procurement, including expired test kits, recommending legal action and recovery of funds.

The report by the commission headed by retired High Court judge John Michael D’Cunha, which investigated the alleged irregularities in COVID-19 management and procurements during the BJP’s tenure, has found that over 16 lakh RT-PCR test kits supplied by two companies in 2022 were either expired on the date of the supply or were nearing expiry date.

Besides, the commission has also found that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd. (KSMSCL) that cancelled a supply order for one lakh Rapid Antigen (RAT) kits placed with a Singapore-based company in March 2020 — for delay in supplying — has not recovered the ₹6.99 crore paid to the company towards the order.

The KSMSCL, which made total payments to the tune of ₹212.41 crore towards procurement of nearly 1.85 crore RAT kits in 2020, cancelled purchase orders of a total value of ₹ 77.32 crore for different reasons.

Recommending departmental proceedings and legal action against the officials concerned, the commission has said that ₹9.99 crore, including ₹3 crore paid towards the supply of expired RT-PCR kits, should be recovered.

According to the 279-page report on procurements made by the KSMSCL that is compiled in part IV of the report, a payment of ₹148.84 crore was made by KSMSCL to various suppliers and firms towards procurement of RT-PCR kits from 2020 to 2022. 

The Commission’s report stated that there were records indicating procurement of RT-PCR kits, RNA extraction kits and Viral transport media (VTM) of a total value of ₹ 106.25 crore during the pandemic in Karnataka. However, this procurement has been made without administrative approval, the report stated.

The commission noted that the State’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), in its meeting proceedings dated August 16, 2022, detected that the RT-PCR kits supplied by M/s J J Biotech and M/s Q-Line Biotech (P) Ltd. Lucknow had either expired on the date of the supply or was nearing expiry date. The TAC  had recommended that the KSMSCL should initiate action for the replacement or extension of the expiry dates of RT-PCR kits and RNA extraction kits.