Lucknow, Jul 18 (IANS): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Monday gave a week's time to the Uttar Pradesh government to reply to charges of bungling in a central government-funded health scheme.

A public interest litigation (PIL) on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) alleged the financial lapses were directly linked to the murder or suspicious death of three doctors associated with the scheme for villages.

The PIL was filed by Lucknow-based journalist Sachidanand Gupta. His counsel Nadeem Murtaza also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the implementation of the NRHM in the state.

A division bench comprising Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi directed the state government to reply by July 25.

The petition alleged that a huge chunk of the Rs.3,000 crore allocated by the central government towards the NRHM in Uttar Pradesh went into the pockets of those entrusted the task of implementing the scheme.