Editor,
I am a little baffled and paranoid to say that there exist many public offices or councils or committees or bodies created by the government order or any authority that remain inactive and lose their relevance by virtue of their inaction and are not able to perform up to the marking task allotted to them. The general spirit of constituting such bodies was to serve the best interest of the general public at large, keeping the moral values to function as per the prescribed objectives and responsibilities.
In recent times, Meghalaya has been tagged as the most corrupt State in the north-eastern states and has badly hit the image of the State. This tag may or may not be accurate, but the overall developmental sectors have been improving so far. However, it is the talk of the town that the administration in Meghalaya is opaque, highly secretive, less governance, etc, which may be attributed to the tag above. It is also witnessed that the authority needs more willpower to run any lesser-known governmental bodies smoothly and perfectly, adding to the title above. These unpopular bodies were usually left idle and the government of the day used them as a harboured technique to generate many illegal backdoor scams.
One such inoperative and idle governmental body was the Council of Pharmacists, known as the Meghalaya State Pharmacy Council or, in short, Meghalaya Pharmacy Council (MPC). Many would remain unheard of this council, and even those who have heard would think that the MPC is either ghosted or a dead panel because of its idleness.
The Meghalaya Pharmacy Council or any other State Pharmacy Council was constituted by the act of Parliament known as the Pharmacy Act 1948. As per the Act, the State Pharmacy Council shall consist of the President, Vice President and other pharmacist members. The purpose of the State Pharmacy Council was to maintain and monitor the register of Pharmacists in the State. Its objective and functions are to regulate the profession and improve pharmacy status. It has a role in issuing licenses for medical shops, inspecting pharmacies, looking at the welfare of pharmacists, etc. It acts as a watchdog for any illegal pharmacy practices within the State. The State Pharmacy Council has a tenure of five years.
All State Pharmacy Councils must follow these objectives in the country and function according to the terms and conditions of the Pharmacy Act. However, the Meghalaya Pharmacy Council (MPC) has failed to abide by the ethics and principles of the act effectively. Therefore, it must be a matter of discussion and its relevance today in Meghalaya.
The status of MPC today is a toothless and vestigial governmental body with no muscles to flex. Despite many prescribed duties, it has only been performed in limited numbers. Keeping the register of pharmacists and granting medical store licenses are the only functions that MPC is executing. It failed to perform duties to tackle and crack down on the malpractices, fraud and illegal licensing rampant in the pharmacy profession. MPC also purposely neglected other obligations embedded in the act and negated their power to zero. The lackadaisical behaviour on the part of MPC to holistically perform its responsibilities has failed to meet the aims and objectives of the State Pharmacy Council. Its failure has led the future of pharmacists into a very sorry state of affairs.
Moreover, the council has a fixed tenure of five years. The council would dissolve once the term had ended until a fresh election was notified. However, in the case of Meghalaya, the office of the Meghalaya Pharmacy Council seems hereditary in nature because the same people are holding the post illegally without an election. More than two decades have passed, and no elections have been held for this council. Never in the history of any State Pharmacy Council lost its way for more than two decades except in Meghalaya.
It is a shame that such a small State can’t even hold a proper election to the council. It also acts as an insult to the rules laid down by the Pharmacy Act. This is nothing but a willful violation of the council’s regulation by the administration. How on earth does the office of MPC still exist even without a fresh election? The old office bearers are also allegedly still acting as incumbent council members and continue enjoying the post illegally. Besides the failure to conduct fresh elections for so long, it is also alleged that MPC is a hub of corrupt practices and bribery scams regarding the appointments and regulations of drug stores. Nonetheless, it is wrong to wholly blame the council alone for its dishonesty because there lie a series of reasons associated with the ineffectiveness of MPC that contributed to the loss of its relevance today.
Furthermore, if such incapacities and inefficiencies persist, what else do we expect from this council? There may also arise questions like, do we still need it? What relevance does it bring to the State of Meghalaya? Why has no election even for more than two decades? Why not repeal and relieve the budget constraint?
In a broader sense, MPC is responsible for the fate of pharmacists in the State. If it is here to stay, major structural reform is needed. It should be revamped entirely and reconstituted with fresh elections immediately. Its failure has not only crippled the overall development of pharmacy in the State but also directly impacted the profession and the dignity of the pharmacists in the State. The government must also not deprive pharmacists of their rights and benefits by being utterly silent on the conduction of election to the MPC. The government must also be wary of the court of law for its action on the indefinite suspension of election to the council. Lastly, for the smooth functioning of MPC, the government is expected to enforce the existing robust framework holistically.
Name withheld on request
