Crores Allegedly Lost Through HLL-Established AMRIT Pharmacies, Balvinder
16/02/2026
Jammu, February 16 (KIP)-Renowned RTI activist S. Balvinder Singh, along with members of civil society, S T. P Singh, S Rajinder Singh Sudan, S Paramjit Singh, S Tejinder Singh, S Manmohan Singh, Sh Anil Nargotra, Sh Mahesh Singh Kotwal, S Satinder Pal Singh, S Gurdeep Singh, S Janak Singh etc, disclosed before the media alleged large-scale loss to the State exchequer through the supply of drugs, stents and medical items to health institutions in JKUT.
Singh stated that the alleged irregularities run into several crores of rupees may involve the connivance of officials at different levels otherwise it is not possible to openly squander the state exchequer.
Singh Said that HLL Life Care removed drug price lists from its website and did not provide rate-contract copies to single hospital authorities of JKUT despite repeated requests by MS of different Hospitals. whereas both Jan Aushadi and JKMSCL has displayed the rate list of each drug/disposable on their website. Singh Said that earlier HLL Life care Website too had the list of drugs on their website but later they removed it.
He explained that HLL Lifecare Limited established AMRIT Pharmacies to procure medicines, implants, stents, orthopaedic items and oncology drugs directly from manufacturers through rate contracts, maintain centralised warehouses, and supply them to hospital outlets at minimal margins.
However, he alleged that in JKUT this model has not been implemented. Instead, AMRIT outlets are reportedly procuring medicines from only from a few selected vendors, like Shivani Enterprises, Narag Pharma and EDWILL and supplying them to hospitals at highly inflated rates — allegedly 100–150% above market prices and 300–350% higher than rates of Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited.
Balvinder stated that despite a senior official of a hospital raising serious concerns about the exorbitant rates being charged by AMRIT Pharmacy, which are putting an additional burden on the hospital exchequer, and even providing a comparison of the cancer drugs mentioned below, no action has been taken so far to stop this organised loot.
Examples cited by Mr Singh : Mabtas 100 mg: supplied by Amrit at ₹3,627.31 vs market rate of ₹1988, Mabtas 500 mg @ ₹18,053 vs ₹8,695, Bevatas 100mg : ₹10,665 vs ₹3,850 available in the market & Debrumab: ₹15,120 vs ₹10,024 market rate.
Singh further stated that on 23.10.2024 he also sent a mail to Sh Abid Administrative Secretary H&ME asking him to suspend the payment intiate enquiry only then release the payment but after the lapse of more than three months in my RTI reply it is revealed that My RTI received by Ad Secretary after five days and in response to the query what action has taken the reply was “ACTION UNDER PROCESS”
Singh also cited a case of a cancer patient undergoing radiotherapy who was billed twice on the same day for Bevacizumab 600 mg injections @Rs.28,794 and @ Rs.43,252 (under Ayushman Bharat) — against a market price of about ₹12,000–15,000 per dose, allegedly causing a loss of about ₹40,000 in a single case.
He further alleged: Drip set which is a running item and consumed lac per annum, supplied by JKMSCL at ₹9.74 to hospitals but Hospitals procured this through AMRIT at ₹26.32, similarly Cefuroxime 1.5 g available through JKMSCL at ₹26.60 but supplied via AMRIT at ₹197.40 thus deceiving the state exchequer.
ingh questioned the need for another procurement agency when JKMSCL and Jan Aushadhi outlets already supply medicines at lower and more affordable rates. Demanding accountability, Singh called or a high-level inquiry to protect public funds and ensure transparency in the procurement of medicines in government health institutions and strengthen J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited at the model of Rajasthan Medical Services Limited who is running very successfully