Chandigarh, Aug. 9 -- As many as 147 of the total 1,096 medical devices purchased by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in the last five years have been lying unused, the Union health ministry informed Parliament in response to an unstarred question from Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari. The MP had asked whether medical equipment worth crores, including those procured for the Mother and Child Care Centre, was lying non-operational due to incomplete infrastructure. The Ministry revealed 93% of the Mother and Child Care Centre's civil works are complete, and delays were caused due to Covid-19, revision in building plans to meet site and user needs, and compliance with fire safety norms. The Ministry revealed that the highest number of idle equipment are in the neurosurgery (55) and paediatrics (33) departments, followed by the advanced paediatric centre and anaesthesia which have 20 each. In neurosurgery, the unused devices include intensive care unit (ICU) beds costing Rs.2-3 lakh each. The neurosurgery purchased 479 devices in all while the paediatrics department bought 110. The Ministry did not reveal the total cost of the unused equipment. In the last five years, the grant-in-aid for PGI to create capital assets has increased from Rs.250 crore in 2021-22 to Rs.350 crore in 2024-25. There was no response from the PGI administration despite multiple attempts to reach them....