HC attaches salaries of Punjab health secy, others for not paying dues to hospitals under Ayushman Bharat scheme

Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj, presiding over the case, instructed the Punjab government to file an affidavit detailing all payments made against bills between December 30, 2021, and September 24, 2024. The court ordered that the salaries of Kumar Rahul, IAS, Principal Secretary, Health Department, along with other senior officials, remain attached until further notice.

“The salaries of Kumar Rahul, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Health, Babita, Chief Executive Officer, Deepak, Director and Sharanjit Kaur, Deputy Director, State Health Agency, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab shall remain attached till the next date of hearing”, ordered Justice Bhardwaj.

The case was brought by the Indian Medical Association, Punjab, representing hospitals registered under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. These hospitals have raised pending medical claims with the State Health Agency, amounting to over Rs 500 crore. Of this, only Rs 26 crore has been released so far.

SP Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India, pointed out that under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, 60% of the medical bills are reimbursed by the Union government. He added that the Union government had already released Rs 355.48 crore up to the financial year 2023-24, but the Punjab government had neither released its own 40% share nor disbursed the central funds.

The Punjab government admitted to a liability of over Rs 500 crore as of December 2022 but offered no explanation for the delay in payments. Justice Bhardwaj expressed surprise that, despite receiving Rs 350 crore from the central government, the state had retained the funds unlawfully.

The court also asked for a detailed response on how the funds received from the Government of India had been utilised. The affidavit must clarify whether the central funds were diverted for other purposes.

The HC directed the Principal Secretary of Finance to file an affidavit detailing expenses incurred by the state between December 2021 and September 2024. This should include expenditures on advertising in print and audio-visual media, specifying the states and languages in which these advertisements were published or aired.

The court directed that the affidavit should also cover expenses related to the renovation of houses and offices for Class-I officers and Ministers/MLAs in Punjab, as well as costs associated with the purchase of new vehicles for these officials, including their makes.

Additionally, the court also sought details on “The expenditure incurred on various social welfare schemes such as free electricity, Atta Dal Scheme etc. as against the budgetary allocation for the same period.”

The court is examining whether grants for specific purposes have been misused or misapplied by the Punjab government.

The court will now hear the case on October 16.