Crores Spent, Machines Lie Idle: Delhi Govt Hospitals Report Hundreds Of Unused Medical Equipment To HC

Published 11 August 2026 · local

News cities new-delhi-news Crores Spent, Machines Lie Idle: Delhi Govt Hospitals Report Hundreds Of Unused Medical Equipment To HC Crores Spent, Machines Lie Idle: Delhi

News cities new-delhi-news Crores Spent, Machines Lie Idle: Delhi Govt Hospitals Report Hundreds Of Unused Medical Equipment To HC Crores Spent, Machines Lie Idle: Delhi Govt Hospitals Report Hundreds Of Unused Medical Equipment To HC Published By, Last Updated: August 11, 2026, 14:01 IST The hospital-wise reports show that hundreds of machines and other pieces of medical equipment are currently not being used. The Delhi government placed the updates before the High Court through an affidavit. (Representational) Medical equipment worth crores of rupees is lying unused across several Delhi government hospitals, with staff shortages, non-functional machines, pending repairs and the continued presence of equipment procured during the Covid-19 pandemic among the reasons cited for the idle assets. The details emerged from status reports filed by 26 hospitals before the Delhi High Court following the court’s direction for a comprehensive audit of medical equipment and machinery available at government hospitals. The Delhi government placed the updates before the High Court through an affidavit, providing details of equipment that is either unused, non-functional, awaiting installation or not being fully utilised. The hospital-wise reports show that hundreds of machines and other pieces of medical equipment are currently not being used across Delhi’s government healthcare system. At Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDUH) alone, at least 350 units of equipment across various departments have been reported as unused. A large portion was procured or supplied during the Covid-19 pandemic and is no longer required after the hospital returned to normal functioning.

Equipment with identifiable purchase costs in the records alone is valued at around ₹90.30 lakh. The unused equipment includes 22 Astrol 150 ventilators worth ₹12.10 lakh, 20 Swasthvayu BiPAP machines worth ₹17 lakh, 10 BiPAP machines worth ₹9 lakh, seven ventilators worth ₹15.12 lakh and 13 Dhaman ventilators costing ₹28.08 lakh, among others. The hospital said some of the machines were retained for emergency or disaster requirements, while wards that had been converted into Covid facilities have since returned to their regular functions. The Delhi State Cancer Institute has reported several high-value machines that are either unused or not fully operational. Its Department of Nuclear Medicine has three major pieces of equipment in this category. A Medical Cyclotron (PET-Trace 10) purchased in 2017 cost US$2.532 million, besides ₹64 lakh in local supplies and ₹2.5 crore in turnkey costs. The machine is currently unused because of a lack of manpower. A PET Scanner with Integrated Multi-Detector/Multi-Slice CT Scanner, purchased in 2021, cost US$2.479 million along with ₹65.38 lakh in local supplies. While the CT component is being used, the PET component is awaiting NEMA testing and the machine is currently under evaluation. A Dual Head Gamma Camera with SPECT and Multi-Slice CT, purchased in 2017 for US$1.3515 million plus ₹26.68 lakh in local supplies, is currently unused and non-functional and is under evaluation. The Department of Cancer Research’s Molecular Oncology Lab has listed 32 pieces of equipment as unused.