A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has revealed significant gaps in the utilisation of COVID-19 healthcare infrastructure and emergency funds in West Bengal, with more than half of the oxygen generation plants installed during the pandemic remaining either non-functional or yet to be commissioned as of December 2023.
The findings are part of the CAG’s 2024 report on public health infrastructure and health services management, which was tabled in the West Bengal Assembly on July 24.
According to the audit, 75 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants were installed across the state under the PM CARES Fund and various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to strengthen oxygen availability during the pandemic. However, only 32 plants were operational by December 2023, while the remaining 43 had either not been commissioned or had become non-functional.
Of the 46 oxygen plants funded through PM CARES, only 23 were functioning. Among the 29 CSR-supported plants, just nine were operational, the report noted.
The audit also highlighted that a substantial portion of COVID-related financial assistance remained unutilised. Of the funds released under the Emergency COVID Response Package-II (ECRP-II), ₹659.28 crore around 65% of the total allocation remained unspent as of March 2022.
Additionally, ₹462.05 crore released as State COVID untied funds, intended to bridge funding gaps for pandemic-related activities not covered under central schemes, was also left unutilised.
The report further pointed to underutilisation of critical medical equipment supplied during the pandemic. At SSKM Medical College and Hospital, five ventilators provided under the PM CARES Fund were found lying unused due to a shortage of consumables, while three additional ventilators remained packed in storage during the audit.
Hospital authorities informed auditors that the consumables initially supplied with the ventilators had been exhausted following extensive use during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing further operation of the equipment.
At Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, 17 ICU ventilators supplied under PM CARES between 2020 and 2022 were found to be non-functional because the hospital’s High Dependency Unit was not operational. The audit also found five oxygen concentrators stored without being put into use.
Responding to the audit observations, the West Bengal Medical Services Corporation Ltd stated that installation of the PSA oxygen plants fell under the responsibility of the Union government and the respective CSR agencies. It added that tenders had been invited to make the remaining plants operational.
However, the CAG observed that the response did not provide any assurance regarding when the non-functional oxygen plants would become operational, raising concerns over the long-term utilisation of healthcare infrastructure created during the COVID-19 pandemic.