The Maharashtra State Chemists and Druggists Association (MSCDA) on Wednesday wrote to CM Eknath Shinde alleging massive corruption in the office of state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) minister Sanjay Rathod. Chemists and druggists have threatened to go on a strike if their complaints into the "demand for high sums of money" by Rathod's staff are not looked into.
Rathod has denied the allegations and said the MSCDA letter was baseless.The letter states that the Food and Drug Administration regularly inspects establishments of chemists and druggists across the state. Due to small errors committed unintentionally by the shopkeepers, the administration either temporarily suspends or permanently cancels their licences to sell medicines.As per the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, if a chemist/pharmacist is served a notice, they have to file an appeal against the action taken against them before the Food and Drug Administration minister. An adjournment order or hearing can be expected on that appeal.
The letter said that many times, even after the entire term of the sentence is over, no decision is given after contacting the minister's office several times. In fact, demands for huge sums of money were being made by the minister's personal secretary and other officers, the letter alleged.The association said that even after meeting the chief minister, deputy chief minister and Rathod, corruption has not gone down, but has increased. Anil Nawandar, the secretary of Maharashtra State Chemist and Druggist Association, said, "Our association has about one lakh members. Chemists are served notices for multiple reasons. Sometimes, they are even ordered to keep their shops closed. We have to appeal in Mantralay against these orders. In many cases, when these appeals reached Mantralay, no action was taken. If there is no redressal, then we will have to take other measures."