The Himachal Pradesh assembly witnessed a heated exchange between chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and leader of the opposition (LoP) Jai Ram Thakur over alleged financial irregularities in the state’s flagship Himcare health scheme.
While Thakur accused the Congress government of using false data to dismantle the scheme out of political vendetta, Sukhu defended his administration, citing internal audit findings that flagged fraudulent billing, including ovarian surgeries billed for male patients.
The Mukhya Mantri Himachal Health Care Scheme (Himcare) was launched on January 1, 2019, by the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government to provide cashless treatment of up to ₹5 lakh a year to families excluded from the central Ayushman Bharat scheme. At present, it covers around 11 lakh registered beneficiaries.
Thakur demands judicial probe
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Thakur alleged the government was giving misleading data to justify shutting down the health initiative under the guise of “corrections”.
He demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Himachal Pradesh high court into Himcare’s implementation under both the previous BJP regime and the present Congress government.
Thakur rejected the chief minister’s claims of large-scale corruption. He said that during the BJP’s tenure, a total of ₹441 crore was spent on the scheme. “If the total expenditure was ₹441 crore, how can there be corruption of ₹1,100 crore? This is completely false and misleading,” Thakur argued.
He countered that the Sukhu-led Congress government has already spent over ₹900 crore while leaving liabilities pending, and is citing corruption to scrap the scheme.
He also flagged concerns over inflated medical procurement rates. “Without any proper investigation, the government is trying to shift blame and mislead the House,” Thakur said.
CM cites billing discrepancies
Responding to the charges, Sukhu announced that the state vigilance department has been ordered to probe the matter. He asserted that a health department internal audit had unearthed “alarming facts”.
Citing specific discrepancies, Sukhu alleged that bills were generated for procedures like ovarian surgeries in the names of male patients.
He said that of the total payments made, irregularities worth over ₹110 crore are currently under active scrutiny. The chief minister later clarified that the ₹1,100 crore figure mentioned earlier was a reference to the total expenditure, acknowledging it might have been a slip of the tongue.
However, he emphasised that the government does not intend to scrap the scheme entirely. “We are committed to the welfare of the people. Based on the audit findings, necessary corrections will be made and a new, improved scheme will be brought forward,” Sukhu added, appealing to the opposition to bring forward specific cases of corruption for strict action.
Thakur maintained that presenting inconsistent data to the House was unfortunate and sought a concrete assurance on the continuity of the health scheme.
