Kerala orders Vigilance probe into furniture buys for Ayurveda hospitals

Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has ordered the state's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate alleged irregularities in the purchase of furniture for government Ayurveda hospitals, according to reports published on Monday, October 19, 2026. The purchases were made under the National Ayush Mission during the previous government led by Pinarayi Vijayan. The minister chose a full Vigilance inquiry after rejecting a recommendation from the Health Department's Principal Secretary that an inquiry by the Finance Department would be enough, the reports said.

Government Ayurveda hospitals such as those named in this inquiry are part of Kerala's public health system, and much of the money for buildings, equipment and services in these institutions comes through the National Ayush Mission, a centrally sponsored scheme of the Union Ministry of Ayush. When money meant for patient care is spent on furniture for a hospital that is not yet built, it raises questions about planning, about value for public money and about how closely spending under the mission is checked.

Under the mission, states draw up State Annual Action Plans and the Centre releases funds against those proposals. The general cost-sharing ratio is 60:40 between the Centre and the states, and 90:10 for north-eastern and hilly states. When the Union Cabinet approved the mission's continuation in July 2021, it set an outlay of Rs 4,607.30 crore for April 2021 to March 2026, made up of Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre and Rs 1,607.30 crore from the states, not counting the Ayush health and wellness centre component. The mission's required components include Ayush services, Ayush educational institutions and quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs, with a flexible pool for items such as wellness centres and telemedicine.

The choice of agency also matters. A Finance Department inquiry is an internal administrative check. A Vigilance inquiry is carried out by the state's anti-corruption agency, a step above an internal review. By overruling the advice of his own department's top official, the minister has signalled that the government wants the purchases examined at the higher level.

The probe is part of a wider review. In July 2026, the minister ordered a departmental inquiry into major medical equipment purchases made by the Health Department over the previous 10 years. That followed reports that costly equipment, including mobile mortuaries, was lying unused in government hospitals and medical colleges.

Short-term: Vigilance officers are expected to examine purchase files, tender papers and stock records for the hospitals named. Officials who handled the purchases may be questioned. No finding of wrongdoing has been announced, and the allegations remain to be tested by the inquiry.

Long-term: The case could lead to tighter checks on how Ayush Mission funds are spent in Kerala, for example making sure equipment and furniture are bought only when a building is ready to use. It may also feed into the wider political argument over health spending under the previous government.

Who is affected: Patients who use government Ayurveda hospitals, whose care depends on money being spent where it is needed; staff and officials of the National Ayush Mission in Kerala; and taxpayers, since the mission is funded jointly by the Centre and the state.

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