Nine drug stores flouted norms, Maha govt informs Council

The Maharashtra government today informed the Legislative Council, that 9 drug stores in government and semi-government hospitals in the state have been found to be flouting norms of storage and distribution.
This was stated by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat in a written reply to a question raised by Sharad Ranpise (Congress).
The Maharashtra government as part of its crackdown on drug stores in government and semi-government hospitals in the state had raided 11 drug stores in view of irregularities in storage and distribution of medicines in October 2016.
Ranpise questioned what action had the government taken on stores which were found to have flouted norms and what action did the government take to ensure norms are not flouted by shops in future.

In response to his query, Bapat said that the FDA had raided 11 shops in government and semi-government hospitals in October 2016, out of which 9 shops were found to have violated norms.
"These medical stores in government and semi-government hospitals do not come under the purview of the Drug and Cosmetic Act and they are not licence holders in accordance with the Act. However, according to Section 'K' of the Act, it is mandatory for these stores to keep a record of stock of the drugs and and of sales," Bapat said in his written reply.
"These stores were checked to confirm if they were keeping records or not and the concerned officer of the hospital has been informed about irregularities found by the drug inspector of the Food and Drug department," he stated.