T’puram: Health minister K Muraleedharan sought a detailed probe into alleged financial irregularities in functioning of Hospital Development Society (HDS) at Govt Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. He has written in this regard to home minister Ramesh Chennithala urging to initiate an inquiry.The minister’s intervention follows serious findings in the audit report of HDS for 2021, which allegedly detected financial irregularities amounting to Rs 46 lakh.According to health department, the audit report was forwarded to govt by medical superintendent of MCH for further action.Among the irregularities highlighted in the audit report are the alleged failure to deposit collected funds in bank accounts, deficiencies in the maintenance and verification of accounts, lack of clarity regarding deposits and outstanding dues involving creditors and debtors, and the failure to deduct statutory taxes from payments made under annual maintenance contracts and to security service providers.Describing the audit findings as serious, Muraleedharan said a comprehensive probe was necessary to establish the facts and bring those responsible to justice. In his letter to home minister, Muraleedharan requested that the case be entrusted to an appropriate investigating agency and that legal action, including the registration of a criminal case based on the audit findings, be initiated if warranted.
