PESHAWAR, July 1: Funds allocated for the newly-built district headquarters hospital in Haripur have lapsed because of the officials’ inefficiency, health department officials said on Tuesday.

In the last’s year budget, the Haripur district government had allocated Rs11.5 million for the purchase of instruments for the district headquarters hospital, but the district coordination officer had failed to purchase in the last one year causing the funds released in this regard to lapse, said the official.

The DCO concerned had sent three letters to the provincial health department, asking for purchase of instruments, but every time he was told that he was authorised to purchase the stuff himself under the Local Government Ordinance 2001.

The new building of the 200-bed hospital, completed at a cost of Rs120 million two years ago, lacked proper equipment and remained non-functional.

During the past year, the DCO had floated four tenders but had later cancelled all of them. The last tender was floated on May 20, 2003, and a contract worth Rs5.4 million was awarded to a Peshawar-based contractor on June 2 for the purchase of clothing and surgical equipment.

However, the medical superintendent of the hospital had cancelled the tender on June 24, accusing the contractor of having not completed the supply within seven days.

Meanwhile, the contractor had submitted an application with the office of the secretary health, asking him to hold an inquiry against the medical superintendent of the hospital. He had argued that according to the rules, he needed 60 days for the supply.

He had contended that he had already deposited 15 per cent of the tender’s capital amount as call deposit fee and had placed orders with international firms for purchase of the required equipment, but the tender was declared null and void without assigning any reason by the medical superintendent.