Shortage of manpower and equipment at the State Drugs Control Laboratory may aggravate in the near future.

The top post of deputy director in the state lab is all set to remain vacant for the next two years or more as chief drug analyst OP Agrawal has already applied for voluntary retirement and deputy director YR Mehta is also considering the exit option.

When persistently asked about his retirement plans, Mehta said, "OP Agrawal has already applied for retirement from May. And I am also considering this option for sure."

According to the present rules, even if Mehta retires on his stipulated retirement date in April 2012, the post of deputy director will remain vacant for the next two years as there is no qualified drug analyst in the state with five years of experience to fill up the vacancy. According to sources, this duration can span more than five years if he applies for retirement after getting the plum post of joint drug controller in New Delhi. The lab is already struggling as four out of its seven technicians are enjoying the work of food inspectors in various parts of the state. Besides, two out of four posts of assistant drug controllers at the entry level have been lying vacant for years now. The total staff strength of the lab is 22 and 95% of the budget is used to pay the salaries to the employees.

Many sophisticated machines for drug analysis are gathering dust due to lack of maintenance. One out of three UV spectrophotometers needs immediate service. And one hi-performance liquid chromatography (HLP) machine is lying out of order.

Testing times

Chief drug analyst OP Agrawal has already applied for voluntary retirement.

Deputy director YR Mehta is also considering the option of voluntary retirement.

Two posts of assistant drug controllers have been lying vacant for years.

Arvind Singh/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication