HC Raps Maharashtra Govt for Underutilizing Health Budget, Questions if sanctioned amount be spent before March 31

Mumbai: Slamming the state government for its delay in utilizing the allocated health budget to strengthen the healthcare system for patients in need, the Bombay High Court questioned whether the sanctioned amount would be spent before March 31. The court also asked why the government was waiting until March for the budget’s disbursement when a supplementary budget was available.

Pointing out that only 60% of the funds had been used so far, the court questioned how the government planned to spend the remaining 40% within the next two months before the financial year ends in March. Further, it also questioned the need to wait two months as the state had already a supplementary budget aside. 

This followed the government's submission that it would utilize the entire budget by the end of the ongoing financial year. The High Court questioned why patients who had been waiting since November for treatment should have to wait until March for the budget to be utilized, emphasizing that some might not survive the delay.

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A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre took note of the situation during a hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) and a bunch of petitions that highlighted the high number of deaths at government hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts last year. It was presented that the shortage of medical staff and the lack of medical equipment, particularly ventilators are the primary reasons for the deaths of these patients. 

Orally questioning the government, Justice Dangre remarked, “In Maharashtra, you have supplementary budget also in month of July...so why do you have to wait till March comes?...patients require immediate medical treatment…If the budget doesn't get spent before 31 March, it lapses back…We know the tactics of the government…so why don't you have it in July also..”

The amicus curiae Advocate Mohit Khanna informed the Court that the Public Health Department had utilized only 60% of the budget allocated for developing medical infrastructure, reports Live Law. 

In its response affidavit, the state government informed the High Court that for the financial year 2024-2025, out of the ₹9,612.46 crore sanctioned to the department, ₹6,348.64 crore had been disbursed, of which ₹5,417.41 crore had been utilized.

Not satisfied with the outcome, the court on Wednesday asked why the government had not utilised the rest of the budget amount and what was the need for waiting longer. 

In response, Additional Government Pleader (AGP) Neha Bhide assured the court that the remaining amount would be utilised by the end of the financial year. She also said that the state would submit a chart prepared by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) detailing last year’s and this year’s expenditures.

Observing that the state has a mid-term budget and there was no reason to wait until March for fund allocation, the court said as reported by Indian Express, "In Maharashtra, there is a provision of supplementary budget granted in July, every year. Why do you have to wait till March 31? Why should patients wait for machines/equipment? No machinery can be bought at the last moment. 

While hearing PIL in Nagpur, we found MRI-CT scan machines were not operational in government medical colleges/hospitals. There are so many government hospitals in the state. We know that the amount will come in the last ten days before March 31 and since the tender process will not be over within the ten days, money goes back and the budget gets lapse. If the patient is waiting from the month of November in need of some treatment, he or she will not survive till March when the amount is made available."

Noting that many people are dependent on government hospitals, the Court asked to give the State some solution “Try to give us some solution…Don't give us an answer that you are giving the figure that 31st March you are releasing…a patient who is been waiting since November may not survive till March till your money comes” Justice Dangre orally remarked.

Further, the suo moto PIL also pointed out a large number of vacancies in the Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar districts due to which patients are not getting treatment properly. It highlighted the urgent need to fill vacancies of doctors and nurses, noting that over 40% of posts remain vacant.

The amicus curiae informed the court that between October 2021 and October 2023, only three advertisements had been placed to fill vacant posts. “Almost 30% of vacancies are still unfilled. The government must come up with better ideas,” the court said.

Advocates for Jan Arogya Abhiyan submitted that vacancies at civil hospitals in Nanded and Sambhajinagar were required to be filled at the earliest and questioned why only 7.25% of the total health budget had been spent on medicines and medical supplies in Nanded. 

When asked to present the data, the state government’s public health department in its response affidavit had stated that of 58 sanctioned General Public Services posts (non-medical-group A), 32 were vacant and of 1, 750 posts of district surgeons, health officers and specialised cadre, 748 were vacant. Moreover, of 8,610 posts of Group-A medical officers, 804 remained vacant. Overall, of 54, 954 posts, 11, 375 were vacant as of December 31, 2024.

Slamming the government for the large number of vacancies, Justice Dangre orally remarked “Government medical college and hospital at Chandrapur has 80.8% vacancies...how do you cater to the patients? And out of those 20,000 people who are working, half of them will be on leave…”

The court asked the state to come up with a concrete plan of spending budget allocated to the health sector in instalments and to file an affidavit by February 20, outlining the recruitment timeline for doctors, the budget sanctioned for healthcare, and whether an amendment in the budget allocation by March 31, 2025, is feasible.