Pharmacy Council head, registrar suspended

HYDERABAD: The in-charge head and registrar of the AP Pharmacy Council have been suspended following some administrative lapses and irregularities, and new in-charge and registrar appointed in their places.Drugs Control Administration directorgeneral RP Thakur and assistant director KVSN Gupta were appointed as incharge head and incharge registrar of the council here on Monday.The new officials, in an immediate decision, reduced the registration fee for pharmacists from Rs 5,100 to Rs 510 for diploma holders and to Rs 560 for degree holders.Thakur said former registrar MVV Satyanarayana and former member A Vijay Bhaskar Reddy had issued 1,200 applications for registration of pharmacists without government's permission and increased the registration fee between May and November last year.They had also collected registration fee of Rs 5,100 from 800 pharmacists. They had also collected Rs 80 lakh as fines from pharmacists against the norms. They spent Rs 40 lakh for office use without proper records and did not conduct audits during their tenure.He said a report would be prepared on the irregularities and submitted to the government.