The Maharashtra government today made it mandatory for all its departments that provide medical services to purchase medicines, allied materials and equipment only from Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceuticals Corp Ltd.

A proposal in this regard was approved by the state Cabinet which met here.The move to centralise the purchase of medicines and medical equipment from Haffkine, a state PSU, will streamline the entire process and help in improving quality standards, an official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.Besides, this it will save funds for the government in bulk purchases, he said.

Minister for Public Health Deepak Sawant said the decision will bring more transparency in the purchase of medicines by government departments."The government will be able to keep an inventory of which departments require which antibiotics or equipment and stocks they have with them," he added.Asked what if one department faces shortage or is in urgent need of a particular medicine, will it have to wait for other departments to place orders? Sawant clarified that the departments are empowered to make purchases up to Rs 3 lakh from their contingency funds.

Besides the Public Health and Medical Education department, others like Women and Child Development, Social Justice and Special Assistance, Home, Tribal Development, Zilla Parishads and other departments provide medical services.As per the Cabinet decision, all these departments will now have to procure medicines, allied materials and medical equipment only from Haffkine.