CAG Report Flags Non-Functional Oxygen Plants, Unspent Covid Funds In West Bengal

More than half of the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants installed in West Bengal during the Covid-19 pandemic were either not commissioned or remained non-functional as of December 2023, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in the State Assembly on Friday.

The performance audit on public health infrastructure and management of health services also found that a substantial portion of funds released under Covid-19 response schemes remained unutilised.

According to the report, ₹659.28 crore, or 65 per cent of the funds released under the Emergency Covid-19 Response Package-II, remained unspent as of March 2022. Another ₹462.05 crore released as State Covid-19 untied funds also remained unutilised. The audit further noted that the erstwhile Trinamool Congress (TMC) government did not table CAG reports for four financial years up to 2024-25.

Oxygen Plants Yet To Become Operational

The audit found that of the 75 PSA oxygen plants supplied under the PM CARES Fund and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, only 32 were functional by December 2023. The remaining 43 plants had either not been commissioned or were lying non-functional.

Of the 46 plants supplied through PM CARES, only 23 were operational, while just nine of the 29 CSR-funded plants were functioning.

The West Bengal Medical Services Corporation Ltd told the auditors that installation of the plants was the responsibility of the Union government and the CSR agencies concerned. It added that tenders had been floated to make the remaining plants operational. However, the CAG observed that there was "no assurance available" on when the non-functional plants would become operational.

Ventilators Found Unused

The audit also flagged unused medical equipment at government hospitals.

At SSKM Medical College and Hospital, five ventilators supplied under PM CARES were lying unused as of March 2022 because the required consumables were unavailable. Three more ventilators were found packed in the hospital store.

Hospital authorities informed the auditors that the consumables supplied with the machines had been exhausted after prolonged use during the pandemic, rendering the ventilators unusable without fresh supplies.

At Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, 17 ICU ventilators received under PM CARES between 2020 and 2022 remained non-functional because the High Dependency Unit was not operational. The audit also found five oxygen concentrators lying unused in the hospital store.