KATHMANDU, Dec 9: The government has purchased '3D Mammography' machines for breast cancer testing at a price higher than its actual cost. The Management Division under the Department of Health Services made the purchase. Suspicion of a scam worth millions of rupees arises, as the machine was bought at a price above its market value.
The Department of Health Services has inflated the purchase price of the mammography machine for BP Hospital Dharan, Bharatpur Cancer Hospital, Narayani Hospital, Lumbini Hospital, and Civil Hospital to double the actual cost. While the price of one such machine typically reaches a maximum of Rs 14 million, the purchase agreement was made for about Rs 24 million.
The Department initiated the process to purchase five 3D mammography machines, which were to be received by the end of the last month of the fiscal year. However, the Department has not yet received all the machines. According to the customs clearance document obtained by ‘Republica’, the importing company has already received full payment for all the machines. Maxim Incorporation Traders Company was assigned the responsibility of purchasing and delivering the five 3D mammography machines.
The Department claims that it has received all the machines as ordered. Dr Surendra Chaurasiya, the head of the Department's Logistics Management Division, confirmed the arrival of all the machines. "All the goods have arrived; who spread the rumor that they haven't?" he asked. The Department purchased the machines for Rs 125.5 million. However, a biomedical engineer at the Department stated that the market price for the machines would not exceed Rs 50 million.
A source claims that the then health minister Mohan Basnet made the decision to purchase the machines. The source added, "Department employees arranged for Maxim Incorporation Traders to make the purchase."
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The Department has not installed the machines because not all of them have arrived. Dr Chaurasiya has acknowledged the delay in installation. "The installation is in progress, but the machines are not installed yet," he said.
He stated that he was unaware of the issue regarding the payment being made despite not all the machines arriving. "I have no information about the payment; I am currently out of office," Chaurasiya said.
Department sources reveal that employees arranged for Maxim Incorporation Traders to be assigned the responsibility of purchasing the mammography machines, and two rounds of tender invitations were issued. Initially, on October 19, 2023, the Department issued a tender for the purchase of '2D Mammography' machines.
The Department considers 2D mammography to be of medium quality. On December 14, 2023, the Department's management branch canceled the tender. The notice stated, "The management branch has decided to cancel the tender issued on October 19, 2023." However, the notice did not provide a reason for canceling the tender.
A Department employee said, "It is important to follow the general rules for procurement. When purchasing any item, we first determine the need, then secure the budget, and only after that does the procurement process begin. However, the management branch decided to cancel the 2D mammography tender 50 days after issuing it, without providing any reason." According to the employee, the tender was issued in a way that allowed only one company to participate. That company was the Italian firm "Metaltronica." Although many other companies in Nepal could provide 2D mammography machines, the tender was specifically issued to match the technology of Metaltronica.
A source claims that Maxim Incorporation, located in Baluwatar and operated by Sundar Bhusal, claimed to be the Nepali agent of Metaltronica. However, it was found that Maxim Incorporation was not the official Nepali agent of Metaltronica. Shivam Enterprises then claimed to be the official Nepali agent of Metaltronica.
Ujjwal Basnet operated the company. In response to Bhusal's claim, Basnet, the operator of Shivam Enterprises, stated that he would seek legal recourse. A source claims that the department canceled the tender because Bhusal's company was not in a position to purchase the mammography machine.
After canceling the first tender for the purchase of the 2D mammography machine, the department issued a tender on May 8, 2024, for purchasing 3D machines. The department prepared the specifications to favor Bhusal's Maxim Incorporation Traders, and issued the tender accordingly.
Maxim Incorporation Traders Pvt Ltd, Kathmandu, Nepal, entered into an agreement to purchase five 3D mammography machines for 125.5 million Nepali rupees for the second time, and the process began. At that time, the Director-General of the Department, Dr Sangita Mishra, the Director of the Management Branch, Dr Shravan Thapa, the head of the procurement branch, Chaurasiya, and Biomedical Engineers Padma Mishra and Ashish Chauhan were involved. According to the documents issued by customs on July 7, 2024, none of the machines have arrived yet.
All the machines were supposed to be delivered to the Department by the company on July 4, 2024, and should have reached the respective hospitals by July 12 and 13. However, a source claims that only the bills were submitted to the Department without the machines being officially registered.
Attempts to contact Bhusal, the operator of Maxim Incorporation Traders, were unsuccessful as his mobile phone was switched off. A Department employee revealed that the company had previously faced controversies over other purchases. The employee stated that Bhusal's company had also been involved in a dispute over the purchase of health equipment worth about Rs 400 million for Dhangadhi.
The employee claimed that Bhusal embezzled millions of rupees while purchasing nitric oxide machines, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines, biochemistry analyzers, HPP, and DNA PCR kits. The tenders had also been issued in a way that favored Bhusal's company at that time.
