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Finally, complaints about alleged malpractices committed by the registrar of the Bihar State Pharmacy Council (SPC) have reached the chief minister’s office (CMO).
Along with, the pharmaceutical association wanted the chief minister to consider a member with pharmacy background for the post of president of the SPC which is now presided over by a medical professional. Both the president and the registrar are nominated members to the council, says the letter.
The letter was sent to the chief minister by the former national council member from Bihar, Dr. Kumar Ajay, who is the principal of the Government Pharmacy College in Rohtas. He has been in the war against corruption in the pharmacy council for the last twenty years, and it was because of his intervention that the former registrar was removed from the post some years ago.
The state branch of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) has sent the complaint to the state chief minister Nitish Kumar alleging that the registrar of the state pharmacy council is doing malpractices in the registration process and not working in a transparent manner. According to the IPA members, they have expected a very transparent mode of activities from the side of the council registrar, but his approach is very similar to that of his predecessor who was removed from the post due to alleged misconduct and corruption in service.
The present council was constituted on June 15, 2024 after the Patna High Court dissolved the previous council due to allegations of rampant corruption and illegal activities of the previous registrar. The major problem faced by the students of pharmacy is that they are unable to register their certificates with the council on time. It is alleged that students who have a link with the registrar or the president can register their certificates easily, but those who are not approaching the council or not following corrupt practices are facing the delay. Dr. Kumar Ajay said there is a huge backlog of applications of 2020 onwards with the council, which are lying untouched, but influential students who applied in 2024 got registered with the council. The council is delaying the process of registration under the pretext of a verification process, said the complainant.
The letter to the chief minister, which was reviewed by Pharmabiz, says that the root cause of all the malpractices in the council is due to a non-pharmacist president who knows nothing about the pharmacy act. In June last year, soon after the council president election was held, the president of the Bihar IPA, Ravindra Lal Bandyopadhyay, had sent one letter to the chief minister asking for the removal of the president saying that it was a violation of the guidelines issued by the PCI with regard to presidential election. He informed the CM that the national council had issued one circular to all the state SPCs mandating that only persons with pharmacy background should be elected for the posts of president and vice-president of the state pharmacy councils. He had quoted a clause from the circular which read, “To maintain the sanctity and also to fulfil the objective of the pharmacy profession, elected or nominated members of the SPCs under Section 19 (a) and 19 (b) holding the pharmacy qualification shall be the president and the vice-president of the state pharmacy councils”.
Both the president and the registrar of the present Bihar SPC are nominated members by the government, but the registrar is a pharmacist. IPA wants the government to appoint an elected member to the post of president of the council.
Dr Kumar Ajay apprised the chief minister that the national pharmacy education regulator (PCI) raised serious objections against the appointment of a medical professional as president of the state pharmacy council.
Talking to Pharmabiz, he said the pharmacy registration certificate is essential for the students to enrol for higher studies, to join as a pharmacist either in public or private sector, opening a medical store and renewing a sale licence.
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