CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government purchased about 43.44 crore buprenorphine tablets over the last four-and-a-half years and supplied them through Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) clinics to people undergoing treatment for drug addiction, according to a report tabled in the state Assembly.
The report also highlighted a sharp rise in the supply of the tablets to prisons, indicating the extent of drug addiction among inmates. A total of 40,830 prisoners are registered at OOAT clinics in jails, with 1.73 crore monthly revisits.
The figures were shared by AAP MLA Jagrup Singh Gill while presenting the 129th Report of the Committee on Public Undertakings on the general working of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation for 2026-27.
The report said the number of registered patients at OOAT clinics has increased to 3.17 lakh, with monthly revisits touching 13.55 crore till June this year.
It added that 70,766 patients were admitted to government de-addiction centres and 21,759 to government rehabilitation centres during the period.
The government purchased seven crore buprenorphine tablets in 2022, 9.44 crore in 2023, 10 crore in 2024, 11 crore in 2025 and six crore tablets so far this year. All were of 2 mg strength and supplied to government OOAT clinics.
The report said 8.87 crore tablets have been supplied to jails this year, compared to 1.17 crore tablets in 2022.
It also noted that the number of patients seeking treatment at OOAT clinics increased from nearly two lakh in 2022 to 3.17 lakh at present. Some patients relapsed into drug use but later returned to the clinics, where treatment was restarted.
"After the state government started its Yudh Nasheyan Virudh campaign, the number of persons seeking inpatient treatment had increased and the government had to increase the number of beds in treatment centres,” the report stated.
The report said the government increased bed capacity in treatment centres by adding beds in government hospitals. Hospitals attached to nursing colleges, medical colleges and some NGO hospitals were also included in the programme, taking the total bed strength to around 5,000.
"As a result, the bed strength increased to around 5,000. As of today, approximately 5,000 beds are available, all of which are provided free of cost to patients. Treatment in government institutions is completely free, and patients do not incur any expenses even in the other participating institutions. The entire cost is borne by the government, which has fixed a reimbursement of Rs 1,500 per bed per day. Earlier, around 600 admissions were recorded across the state every month. This number has now increased to approximately 2,800, 3,000, 3,200 and even 3,400 admissions per month,’’ the report states.
The report said buprenorphine therapy is only one component of the state's de-addiction programme, which also includes de-addiction centres, rehabilitation centres, OOAT clinics and recently introduced Methadone Clinics.
The committee observed that some patients dissolved buprenorphine tablets in water and injected the solution using syringes, a practice that has reportedly resulted in several deaths.
Corporation officials said this was due to "needle prick addiction", where patients become addicted to injecting rather than the drug itself. They said the medicine contains a combination of two drugs designed to discourage such misuse and that injecting it does not produce the intended therapeutic effect.
The officials also acknowledged shortcomings in the de-addiction programme, including a shortage of counselling services and inadequate rehabilitation facilities. The committee recommended that the Health Department organise large-scale public awareness campaigns with proper planning and adequate arrangements.