Jaipur, July 3 -- Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday expressed concern over what he described as the near complete collapse of the state's government payment system, alleging that the crisis has left employees, pensioners, hospitals, contractors and beneficiaries of welfare schemes struggling to receive their legitimate dues. In an "urgent" letter addressed to chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Gehlot claimed the payment crisis reflects a deep financial and administrative failure within the state government. He urged the chief minister to intervene immediately to prevent further hardship for lakhs of families across Rajasthan. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed Gehlot's concerns. Commenting on it, BJP spokesperson Ram Lal Sharma said, "Gehlot need not worry. He seems to have forgotten that payment delays were common during his own government. The BJP government's financial management is strong and stable, and whatever backlog remains will be cleared shortly." In the letter, shared with journalists on a messaging service, Gehlot said the issue of pending payments is no longer confined to a single department or scheme, but has spread across multiple sectors, affecting government employees, pensioners, accident victims' families, hospitals, medicine suppliers and small contractors. He described the situation as an unprecedented example of financial mismanagement in the state's history. Referring to the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS), the former chief minister alleged that payments worth crores of rupees to private hospitals, diagnostic centres and medicine vendors have remained pending for months. He said the situation had become so serious that the State Human Rights Commission was compelled to take suo-motu cognisance, while several empanelled hospitals have either restricted services under the scheme or warned of terminating their agreements with the government. According to Gehlot, despite the government's promise of cashless treatment, many employees and pensioners are now being forced to pay medical expenses from their own pockets with the expectation that they will be reimbursed once the government clears the pending dues. He urged the state government to provide written guarantees to hospitals assuring reimbursement in such cases. Gehlot highlighted delays in payments under the chief minister Chiranjeevi/Ayushman Accident Insurance Scheme. He said that although families of accident victims are entitled to financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh in case of death, hundreds of approved claims are reportedly still awaiting payment. "It is deeply insensitive that families who have already lost their sole breadwinner are being forced to wait for months despite their claims being sanctioned," Gehlot said in the letter. Gehlot claimed that social security pensions for senior citizens, widows and persons with disabilities have remained pending for months and the crisis has extended to treasury-cleared bills, affecting infrastructure projects related to roads, drinking water and other public works. He claimed that many small contractors have been forced to publish newspaper advertisements to draw the government's attention towards their pending payments. Gehlot said the payment crisis directly impacts the livelihood and dignity of lakhs of families....