Bombay High Court Expresses Concern Over Unspent Healthcare Budget, Directs State To Ensure That Sanctioned Budget Is Spent

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor said that unspent budget gets lapsed at the cost of the healthcare system.

“what we, prima facie, find is that the entire budget sanctioned for procurement of drugs and medical equipments has not been spent…We, thus, expect that adequate and appropriate steps shall be taken to spend the budgetary allocation in its entirety otherwise after sanctioning the amount, if it is not used, the same gets lapsed at the cost of the health care system.”

The court was dealing with a suo motu PIL regarding two government hospitals in Nanded and Aurangabad districts of Maharashtra which reported over 50 deaths within a span of four days.

The court directed prompt action to fill numerous vacant positions in medical departments, emphasizing the critical impact on healthcare services.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf submitted that after the establishment of the Procurement Authority under the Maharashtra Medical Goods Procurement Authority Act, 2023, the process of procurement of drugs and medical equipment has gained pace.

According to the affidavit submitted by Dinesh Waghmare, Principal Secretary of the Department of Medical Education and Drugs, a significant portion of the sanctioned budget for drug and medical equipment procurement remained unspent.

Highlighting the vacancies in medical departments, the court noted that approximately one-third of Group "C" posts were vacant, encompassing roles such as nursing staff and technical positions crucial for diagnostics. The court stressed the urgency of filling vacancies, as they hamper the health care facilities and services in the hospitals run by the State.

“So far as the Department of Medical Education and Research is concerned, against the total Group “C” posts which are 21686 in number, 8721 posts are vacant. Similarly, in respect of the posts in the Public Health Department, as against total number of sanctioned posts of 57714, the posts which are vacant are 20402”, the court recorded.

Saraf said that he is personally supervising the steps being taken by the State Government to fill the vacancies. The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has also been taking for filling up all the vacancies, he said. The court directed both the State Government and the MPSC to expedite the recruitment process further.

Regarding court's earlier concern about appointment of a full time Chief Executive Officer of the Procurement Authority, Saraf informed the court that an officer has been appointed to take full-fledged charge of the post.

The court sought a detailed affidavit from the State Government outlining steps taken to fill vacancies. The affidavit also has to disclose the steps to be taken by the state government and other authorities to ensure that the sanctioned budgetary allocation is spent. “The affidavit shall also disclose reasons as to why in past the entire budgetary allocation has not been released and as to why the released amount has not been spent”, the court added.

Additionally, MPSC was directed to file an affidavit detailing the timeline for completing the recruitment process for posts under its purview.

The court appreciated the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer for the Procurement Authority and expressed hope that this would accelerate the procurement of drugs and medical equipment. The next hearing is scheduled for February 1, 2024.

Case no. – Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation No. 1 of 2023

Case Title – High Court of Judicature at Bombay on its own Motion v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.