Amendment bill withdrawn in govt bills fiasco during monsoon session
PANAJI
The Governor P Sreedharan Pillai has promulgated an Ordinance giving effect to certain changes in the Goa Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2019, including one that makes 'temporary registrations' valid for one year duration.
These changes in the law of registration and regulation of medical establishments had been proposed in an Amendment Bill introduced in the July-August monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly.
The Bill however did not go through the motions of being taken into consideration and passed by the House during the session and was among a bunch of government-sponsored legislations which were either withdrawn or referred to select committees following stiff opposition.
Other changes in the 2019 statute governing clinical establishments which the Ordinance has brought into force is an extension of one year granted to these establishments which do not either a temporary or permanent registration, to gain the registration.
Clinical establishments covered under the law include hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, nursing homes, pathological or other laboratories, diagnostic centers and such.
All establishments whether run by the government or by private entities including trusts have to comply.
The amendment aborted during the monsoon session had sought to omit section 47 of the principal Act which in effect will give establishments more time to gain either the temporary or permanent registration.
Under the 2019 law, failure to have either a temporary or permanent registration makes clinical establishments in the State liable to a fine ranging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh.
Although this Amendment bill introduced by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane in the monsoon session had no contentious element in it, the minister withdrew it along with two other bills pertaining to the Town and Country Planning portfolio he also holds.
