The parliamentary standing committee on health has asked the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to tackle the ongoing issue of unspent funds under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) and improve the way projects are carried out.

According to official data, the government had initially allocated Rs 3,200 crore for the PM-ABHIM scheme in the Budget Estimate (BE) for FY25. However, this amount was later reduced to Rs 3,000 crore in the Revised Estimate (RE). By February 2025, only Rs 2,007 crore, or 66.9% of the revised amount, had been spent. A similar trend was seen in previous years. For FY24, the initial allocation of Rs 4,200 crore was cut to Rs 2,100 crore in the RE. The final expenditure for FY23 was Rs 1,805 crore, which was 85% of that year's revised estimate.

The parliamentary panel, led by Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav, expressed concerns about the scheme’s slow fund utilisation and questioned the efficiency of its implementing agency. The report highlighted a recurring pattern of delays in spending, especially in the initial months of each financial year, despite PM-ABHIM being a capital-intensive scheme. The committee attributed this to a deeper systemic issue rather than just delays linked to capital expenditure projects.The panel suggested allocating a larger share of the budget in the first quarter, as long as states provide detailed project implementation plans. This approach, the panel argued, would enable infrastructure projects to start earlier and ensure spending is more consistent throughout the financial year.

The committee acknowledged some progress under the PM-ABHIM scheme but raised concerns about the slow pace of project execution. This centrally sponsored scheme, active from the 2022-23 financial year to 2025-26, is designed to improve health infrastructure at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Its main features include Sub-Health Centres (SHCs), Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (U-AAMs), Block Public Health Units (BPHUs), Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs), and Critical Care Blocks (CCBs). As of FY25, the progress in initiating projects under PM-ABHIM has improved, but the completion rate remains low. Out of 13,081 approved units, only 5,682 have been finished, accounting for 43 per cent. Urban AAMs showed the highest completion rate, crossing 50 per cent, while other components performed poorly. The committee expressed concern about the extremely low completion rate of CCBs, with just 10 out of 394 approved units becoming operational, which is only 3 per cent.

Although the health ministry has tried to speed up progress by starting activities earlier and conducting regular reviews, land acquisition remains a significant challenge, especially for CCBs. The committee emphasised that achieving the scheme's important goals depends on improved monitoring and technical support to ensure it is completed on time. “The department should focus on providing technical assistance and capacity building to states to expedite project approvals and implementation, thereby mitigating delays and ensuring the timely achievement of the scheme’s objectives,” the report said.