Despite directions from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) two months ago, the National Medical Commission (NMC) members are yet to declare their assets online. The PMO directed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to take "appropriate action" on a complaint against non-disclosure of assets by NMC members, including its chairman, on October 23, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
To recall, NMC has written to the ministry at least twice to change the disclosure format. According to the letters, some members have reservations with the present format, where they have to give complete details of land, jewellery, investments in banks, insurance policies and so on. As per the NMC Act 2019, the chairman and members must declare their assets and liabilities on the official website. However, despite several RTIs in this regard, the NMC chairman and its members have failed to declare their assets on the website, said Dr KV Babu, who has been doggedly pursuing the matter for months.
"It is clear that the NMC has been sitting over the assets disclosure for the past two-and-half years, and it seems that the health ministry, which is legally mandated to enforce the NMC Act, has been sleeping over it for more than six months, despite several RTIs in this regard," the RTI activist said.
"What is more shocking is that even after the communication from the PMO, both the NMC and health ministry continue to drag the issue. Hope the NMC will comply with the NMC Act, given the communication from the PMO, and non-complying officers are removed," he added.
"If the Supreme Court and High Court judges can declare their assets publicly, why can't the NMC members and the chairman?" the activist asked, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
