No funds crunch, only commitment lacking

Expressbuzz, Dec 17, 2009
BHUBANESWAR: The Health Department is all set to utilise the expertise of mother NGOs to take the responsibility of awareness generation on gaon kalyan samities (GKS) across the State.

Even there are areas where GKS exist only on pen and paper. No meetings are held by the villagers on their health-care requirements, admitted Health Minister Prasanna Acharya here yesterday citing example of a village in Kalahandi where the villagers told him that they had no idea whether there was any fund lying with their GKS or not.


Speaking at a consultation on “Community action under National Rural Health Mission: The status and way forward,’’ Acharya said though the scheme has many innovations, the benefits are not reaching the grassroots as planned.

Donning the role of an evaluator, he said while on a visit to a district headquarters hospital he was told that there was lack of funds. He was surprised to know that with its users’ fee account nearly Rs 33 lakh was lying unspent. It was even more surprising to note that neither the CDMO nor the district collector had any inkling of the fund or the way it was to be used.

Also in many cases it was found that 95 per cent of the GKS fund had not been spent. Asking his own officials to work towards proper, planned and just use of the funds with time-bound submission of utilisation certificates (UCs), the Minister also warned that otherwise, the Centre might not be eager to grant the third tranche under the scheme. While supporting the role of civil society organisations, he, however, said that despite assurances, their work is not up to the expectation and the Health Department had to blacklist 17 NGOs.

Directing Health officials and those working under NRHM to take up their field level responsibilities seriously, he said the villagers should be sensitised on the scheme.

Referring to the role of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in health-care delivery across the State, he said even the Government is planning to utilise their services shortly in the urban slum areas to help more needy people.

Acharya, however, was critical of the role of political parties which are utilising these grassroots-level health workers for propagating their political ideologies.

Assuring that more NRHM responsibilities would be entrusted to the 50,000 ASHA workers, he urged them not to be cowed down by any political organisation.