IAS officer Prashant Goyal gets additional charge of Delhi Health Dept amid Rs 700 crore procurement scam
New Delhi: The Delhi government has divested the Health Secretary of his charge in a major bureaucratic reshuffle and assigned senior IAS officer Prashant Goyal the additional charge of the department as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), officials said on Thursday.
The administrative changes come amid an ongoing Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) investigation into an alleged Rs 700-crore scam involving the procurement of medicines and medical equipment in government hospitals.
Also Read:Rs 700 crore medical procurement fraud: Delhi ACB arrests pharma distributor
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has arrested a pharmaceutical distributor in connection with an alleged Rs 700-crore fraud involving the procurement of medical equipment and hospital consumables for government hospitals.
In August, Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh had sought an explanation from the health secretary following a fresh complaint alleging that some of the 13 companies named in a 2024 FIR over the supply of substandard materials to six government hospitals were still involved in procuring and supplying surgical items to government-run hospitals.
Former Health Secretary had also been issued a show-cause notice over the alleged failure to submit an action plan for the pending procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment despite repeated directions.
With the expected rollout of the new excise policy this month, the department got a new head with Awanish Kumar, a 2014-batch officer currently serving as Director of Training and Technical Education (TTE) and Higher Education, being made the Commissioner (Excise). The previous Commissioner was transferred to Arunachal Pradesh last month, reports the Indian Express.
The reshuffle also brings changes to several senior administrative positions. Bipul Pathak, a 1992-batch officer who will continue as Additional Chief Secretary of the Social Welfare, SC/ST/OBC, and Women and Child Development departments, has been assigned the additional charge of Financial Commissioner.
Prashant Goyal, a 1993-batch officer, has been given additional charge of the Health Department while being relieved of his responsibilities as ACS of Food and Civil Supplies.
Navin Kumar Chaudhary, a 1994-batch officer currently serving as ACS of Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC), with additional charge of the General Administration Department (GAD), has been assigned the additional charge of ACS of Food and Civil Supplies. He will continue as ACS of GAD while retaining additional charge of I&FC.
In another administrative change, Niharika Rai, a 2005-batch officer serving as Secretary-cum-Commissioner of Transport, has been relieved of her additional charge as Secretary of Tourism. She has also been given the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
The reshuffle comes at a time when the Delhi government is facing scrutiny over alleged irregularities in the procurement of medicines and medical equipment.
Also Read:Delhi Medical Procurement Scam: Former CPA Head moves bail plea
