India News | TMC MP Gokhale Alleges Scam in PM CARES Ventilator Procurement During Covid

New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday claimed that the ventilators procured through the PM CARES Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic were both overpriced and faulty.

In a post on X, Gokhale termed the ventilator procurement as a “scam,” questioning the transparency of the fund and the rationale behind the pricing.

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There was no immediate response from the government regarding the allegations.

The Rajya Sabha MP cited financial disclosures from the official PM CARES website which state that Rs 2,146.6 crore was spent to procure 50,000 ventilators, translating to approximately Rs 4.2 lakh per unit.

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“PM CARES paid Rs 4.2 lakhs/ventilator. Real cost: Rs 1.5 lakhs/ventilator,” Gokhale said, adding that the machines were rejected by many government hospitals for being faulty.

He also referred to a 2021 Bombay High Court observation raising concerns over the quality of the ventilators.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)