SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir utilised Rs 578.47 lakh out of the Rs 600 lakh approved for strengthening rural and urban health infrastructure under the National Health Mission (NHM) during 2025-26, while neighbouring Ladakh spent Rs 710.40 lakh against an approved allocation of Rs 1,884.45 lakh, the Central Government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.
The figures were disclosed by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1101, answered on July 24, in response to a question raised by Lalji Verma, Iqra Choudhary, Neeraj Maurya, Ajendra Singh Lodhi, Ruchi Vira and Harendra Singh Malik regarding the allocation of health infrastructure funds.
According to the reply, Jammu and Kashmir recorded an expenditure of about 96.4 per cent of its NHM infrastructure approval, while Ladakh utilised around 37.7 per cent of its sanctioned amount. The expenditure figures are provisional and include spending from Central releases, State or UT contributions, and unspent balances carried forward from the beginning of the financial year.
The Ministry said public health is primarily the responsibility of States and Union Territories, with the Centre providing technical and financial support under the NHM based on proposals submitted through Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs), subject to available resources and prescribed norms.
The reply also provided details of funding under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) for 2025-26. Jammu and Kashmir received a Central release of Rs 49.69 crore and reported expenditure of Rs 89.56 crore, while Ladakh received Rs 1.03 crore and spent Rs 0.93 crore. The expenditure includes Central grants, UT contributions and unspent balances from previous years and is provisional.
Nationally, the PM-ABHIM has an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 to strengthen health systems at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels and improve preparedness for future pandemics and disasters.
The Ministry said the scheme focuses on building health infrastructure and institutional capacity across the country, while NHM funding is intended to improve the availability and accessibility of quality healthcare, particularly for underserved and marginalised populations.
The reply further noted that the Fifteenth Finance Commission had recommended Rs 70,051 crore in health sector grants to local governments for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 to strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure, including sub-health centres, primary health centres, community health centres, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, diagnostic facilities and block-level public health units. However, no separate fund release or utilisation figures for Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh were listed under the Finance Commission grants in the reply.
