The CPA is the nodal agency for procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment for Delhi government hospitals, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and dispensaries.
The alleged ₹650-crore scam in Delhi’s Central Procurement Agency (CPA) has triggered a wider crisis in the city’s government healthcare system, with the halt in centralised procurement leaving hospitals short of medicines, surgical consumables and equipment even as crores of rupees worth of supplies already purchased through tenders lie unused in poorly-maintained warehouses.The Delhi government has temporarily stopped CPA procurement and ordered cancellation of all pending tenders that had not been finalised. With no fresh tenders being issued, government hospitals have been forced to depend on local purchases to meet immediate requirements.However, local purchases cannot compensate for a centralised procurement system. Doctors and hospital officials said items such as antibiotics, injections, saline, gloves, cotton and bandages have at times been unavailable, forcing hospitals either to borrow supplies from other departments, use substitutes or ask patients to buy them from private pharmacies.The CPA is the nodal agency for procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment for Delhi government hospitals, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and dispensaries. Doctors and hospital officials said the disruption has affected supplies across the government healthcare network.A senior doctor at a Delhi government hospital said his department had been unable to obtain consumables and equipment despite repeatedly placing demands.“Because of the investigation around the scam, everything has halted and no work is happening: no procurement of equipment, consumables. Some medicines have arrived but only for a short duration and then medicines will be procured at a higher rate under local purchase,” he said.Serious deficienciesA senior state health department official said the procurement crisis had disrupted the healthcare system, with medicines purchased through the CPA now at risk of being damaged. “The warehouse is damp and because of the rain many boxes have been ruined which have expensive medicines. This will also lead to the quality of medicines getting affected,” he said.The disruption has come even as supplies already procured through tenders are under scrutiny. A committee constituted by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to prepare an inventory of medicines, surgical items, linen and medical equipment at the Central Drug Store has flagged serious deficiencies in storage and maintenance.In a letter to the DGHS, Chief District Medical Officer (East) Dr Sandeep Gautam said the committee faced several constraints during physical verification, making it “extremely difficult” to prepare an accurate inventory.Linen, which constitutes a major portion of the stock, was found in “highly disorganised, mixed, damp and dust-laden conditions” at different locations. In the absence of proper segregation, coding and category-wise stacking, the committee said it was “practically impossible” to identify, classify and count the items accurately.Medicines requiring cold storage were also found kept at room temperature, both inside and outside the main store.The government’s August 6 order came after Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh issued a show-cause notice to the health and family welfare secretary over the alleged failure to comply with directions to submit a comprehensive action plan for pending procurement of medicines, consumables and medical equipment.The order also calls for a review of existing valid rate contracts and concluded procurement contracts for possible illegality or procedural lapses.Published on August 9, 2026
