Delhi spent only 47.4% of the total funds allocated under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) last year, underlining significant underutilisation of funds.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) report of 2025-26, only Rs 51.32 crore of the Rs 108.27 crore approved under the NTEP was utilised, leaving Rs 56.95 crore unspent. This underspending comes even as 112,977 TB cases were notified in 2025 in the Capital, according to the Delhi State Health Mission (DSHS).

On the reasons behind this gap in expenditure, a Ministry of Health official told The Indian Express, “Funds allocated under the programme are distributed across several expenditure heads, with a significant proportion going towards Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to TB patients. Earlier, a number of beneficiaries did not have their Aadhaar numbers linked to their bank accounts, which affected the timely transfer of benefits.…