Nadda, Kaul Singh lock horns over fund release

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 2

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and state Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today locked horns over the issue of “non-release of two grants of Rs 200 crore under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rs 17 crore under the AIDS control programme”.

Both ministers were supposed to address a joint press conference on the three-day-long National Summit on Best Practices and Innovations in Healthcare in India, but the press conference was cancelled with no reason assigned.

Nadda announced that the Centre has released grant of Rs 102 crore under the NRHM to the state and the Centre would fund health programmes in 75:25 ratio. “The funds are no problems provided the state shows zeal to utilise these,” he said.

Kaul Singh said: “We have heard that the funds worth Rs 102 crore has been released under the NRHM, but health department has not received funds so far. We have asked the Centre to provide funds in the ratio of 90:10 which was the case during the UPA regime. We have taken up the matter with the Central Government to restore Himachal as a special category state.”

But the NRHM and state AIDS control programme have come to halt in the first quarter due to lack of funds.

The Modi government has constituted the Shivraj Chauhan committee under Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister to thrash out the state-Central funds allocation. But the committee has not taken the final call on releasing the NRHM and the AIDS control programmes to Himachal till now, despite repeated reminders that in turn has crippled all health programmes which are funded by the Centre, revealed sources.

The state got Rs 185 crore last year under the NRHM where as it had demanded Rs 267 crore as rest of the amount got lapsed, revealed the officials. “This year, we have sought Rs 200 crore under the NRHM for free ambulance service, maternal and child health scheme, free treatment children up to 12 years in all government hospitals,” they added.

Similarly, Himachal has sought Rs 17 crore that also includes salary of the staff, retroviral treatment medicines and other awareness programmes under the state AIDS Control Programme. Out of this Rs 4 crore has been released by the Centre, but it was not clear whether the programme would be funded cent per cent by the Centre or the fund is in the ratio of 75: 25,” said a health official.

Will replicate best healthcare in state: Nadda

Shimla: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda today urged the state government to put into practice the “innovations and best practices in healthcare that will benefit the common man for which funds are no problem”.  Speaking on the sidelines of the three-day National Summit on Best Practices and Innovations in Healthcare in India, which was inaugurated by him here on Thursday, Nadda said the best healthcare practices will be replicated in Himachal and the Centre would provide liberal funds for these. As many as 110 innovations and best practices in healthcare are being showcased in the national summit. “The best healthcare practices and guidelines under the national rural health mission have been framed to be practiced by the states”, he added. While addressing a gathering of principal secretaries (Health) and mission directors, he said the aim of the summit was at identify innovations to address morbidity and mortality. Many states lacked infrastructure and faced shortage of skilled manpower to man primary heath centres (PHCs) and community health care (CHCs). The NRHM had helped reduce infant mortality rate, measles and rubella by providing health care to marginalized sections and far-flung areas of the country, he said. Health was a state subject, but the Centre was committed to providing all assistance and resources to the states in achieving better health outcomes, he said. Nadda said under ‘Mission Indradhanush’, three rounds of which have been completed and the fourth round will commence from July 7, more than 57 lakh children and over 8 lakh pregnant women had been immunised. About 14.5 lakh children have been fully immunised against seven preventable diseases with the help of the dedicated workers. The inputs from frontline workers should be included before designing best healthcare schemes, he said. —TNS