A generic medicine store in Patna. (TOI file photo by KM Sharma)

A generic medicine store at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore. (TOI file photo by Durgesh Kumar Y)

NEW DELHI: Over one-third of generic drug stores or Jan Aushadhi Stores (JAS), which started during UPA rule, are lying defunct across states, including the maximum of 53 such stores in Rajasthan, opened during Ashok Gehlot’s tenure.In a written reply in Lok Sabha, MoS (chemical & fertilizer) Nihal Chand submitted that till July, 166 JAS had been opened and 76 of them are non-functional. He submitted that stores are lying closed due to change in health policy of state governments and for administrative reasons.The states where more such stores are functional include Odisha, Punjab, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir. While Odisha has a maximum of 22 such stores operational, Punjab has such 21. None of the stores in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttarakhand is operational.Chand also submitted that while government had set the target of opening 626 such generic medicine stores between 2008 and 2012, only 154 such stores could be opened till March 2013.The minister has recorded that the government proposes to open more such stores in the next three years. “Expressions of interest have been invited for opening of JAS in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Sixty-five applications received have been processed and action initiated for opening of stores,” he said.To ensure availability at every JAS, medicines are being procured from central pharma public sector undertakings and private manufacturers.