The Chandpur Civil Surgeon Office has sent a Tk1 crore allocation back to the government, fearing irregularities and misappropriation of the fund. The purchase committee of the office took the decision in a recent meeting following directives from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on May 29. Mysteriously, the office has not yet received an official copy of the allocation order signed by DGHS Assistant Director (Budget) Dr Md Anisur Rahman on February 23. Chandpur Civil Surgeon Dr Md Saifur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that he was not aware of the allocation order until a supplier, who had interest in the allocation, showed it to him on May 9. The allocation was made for buying medical equipments and accessories for seven hospitals and 20 health centres in different upazilas of the district. Dr Saifur sent a letter to the DGHS director general on May 15, informing that he was not able to spend the fund as the allocation order came to his notice after a long delay. The fund was to be distributed by June this year. The letter also stated that the allocation order did not specify how the fund would be spent. In its reply on May 28, the DGHS asked him to return the allocation if the officials concerned find it impossible to spend the money in the stipulated time. Alamgir Bhuiyan, a supplier of medical equipment, told Dhaka Tribune that Dr Saifur could have easily bought the equipment. Many would be deprived of health services because of the decision to return the fund, he added. Bangladesh Medical Association's (BMA's) Chandpur unit General Secretary Mahmudunnabi Masum expressed his shock over the matter and said no one was aware that the allocation had been made. “Efforts were made to misappropriate the fund in secret, but it backfired after the decision [to return the fund] was made at the last moment,” he said. Dr Saifur added the purchase committee had taken the decision to return the fund considering that it could not be properly spent in the stipulated time. The government would have incurred financial losses in that case, he added.