Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday directed private medicine stores to vacate campuses of public health institutions across the state. The direction came on the basis of the Orissa High Court order.
As per the order, 101 medicine stores are to be evicted from the premises of the Government hospitals and medical colleges across Odisha within 15 days.
Shalini Pandit, Secretary of the Health & Family Welfare Department, wrote a letter to the Superintendents of MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla, and Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) of 24 districts. The letter instructs these officials to ensure the eviction of the medicine stores located on the premises of government hospitals or medical colleges.
Before the eviction, officials have been directed to collect any outstanding license money from the owners of the private medicine stores. The state government had previously issued an order in 2015 indicating neither to open new medicine stores nor to renew licenses for existing stores inside the premises of government health institutions.
In protest of the order, store owners filed 111 affidavits in the High Court. But the court ruled in favour of the state government on 19 April. The court said that the state government provides medicines free of cost at hospitals under the NIRAMAYA Scheme, negating the need for private medicine stores on the premises of government hospitals or medical colleges.
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