The notice said the minister had first directed the department through an official communication dated May 26, to prepare and submit a comprehensive action plan with item-wise timelines for completion of all pending procurement processes. According to the notice, after no response was received, another communication was issued on June 17 directing the department to submit the action plan and report by June 19. The notice said that as the information was still not provided, another communication was issued on July 22. However, it alleged that no concrete reply had been furnished on the item-wise timelines for completion of pending procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment. The continued failure to comply with the directions had hampered monitoring of critical procurement activities and reflected serious administrative negligence affecting public health services, the notice alleged.