Chandigarh: The Punjab legislative assembly committee’s report on Punjab Health Systems Corporation (2026–27) has highlighted that the state procured over 43.4 crore buprenorphine tablets since 2022 for de-addiction patients at outpatient opioid-assisted treatment (OOAT) clinics and prison facilities, even as the number of registered patients rose from around 2 lakh in 2022 to 3.2 lakh now.The report evaluated state-run health institutions and has brought to light that this heavy drug distribution has steadily climbed over the years, scaling from 7 crore tablets in 2022 to 11 crore in 2025, and 6 crore so far in 2026. The committee led by MLA Jagrup Singh Gill also highlighted that the bed strength for de-addiction had expanded to 5,000 and all of them were available for free.Presenting the report, Gill said amid AAP govt’s campaign against drugs, the number of buprenorphine tablets supplied to jails had gone up. Responding to it, health minister Balbir Singh said when drug addicts are sent to jails, OOAT clinics are set up so that they don’t have to smuggle buprenorphine tablets and they are weaned away from addiction. “We have set up wards and deputed specialists in jails. There should be no confusion on this. Regarding procurement of buprenorphine tablets outside jails, supply has gone up to curb misuse of injectables medicines, the deaddiction facility has been stepped up,” he added.The report also flagged infrastructure strains, such as the civil hospital in Ludhiana featuring only 15 beds for de-addiction while catering to hundreds of daily patients, as well as unauthorised private de-addiction centres operating illegally out of residential areas in districts like Amritsar without qualified specialists.In its review of Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna, which covers nearly 6.8 million families, the panel found instances where beneficiaries faced restrictions, noting that medico-legal cases were frequently excluded from free treatment. Consequently, the committee ordered thorough, 10-day inquiry reports into specific patient grievances reported from Muktsar and Faridkot. The report also examined the maintenance of 227 secondary-level healthcare institutions under PHSC, highlighting that 28 buildings remain in a dilapidated state.Supply to jails rose 8 times: GillGill said the number of buprenorphine tablets supplied to jails increased from 1.17 crore in 2022 to 8.87 crore in 2026. “The supply of buprenorphine tablets has gone up eight time in the jails,” he said. However, the committee’s report presented a fall in tablets supplied to jail. It said: “2,01,84,336 Tab BPN (2mg) and 88,19,627 Tab BPN (0.4mg) have been dispensed in jail OOAT clinics from 2022 to June 2026”. Gill was not available for comment.
