Centre unhappy with NRHM implementation in J&K, may affect funding in future

Centre unhappy with NRHM implementation in J&K, may affect funding in future Nitesh Sangral JAMMU, Aug 19: With central government expressing its unhappiness over the functioning of field cells established at district level to monitor implementation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Jammu and Kashmir and failure to achieve set targets, state’s funds share in the scheme may be reduced in future. Sources said that Respective Deputy Commissioners and Chief Medical Officers (CMO)s across the state were entrusted with submitting monthly reviews and progress of the projects to ensure strict adherence to guidelines, but most of them have being violated repeatedly. In next few weeks, Union Health Ministry is expected to review the achievements of the scheme, which has completed its seven years across the country. Officials said that the assessment would include utilization of funds, progress on health front in rural areas, the targets given and achieved by the state and the areas and the people benefited out of the scheme. As per the data, since the launch of centrally sponsored scheme in the state, an amount of Rs 592.61 crore has been released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and Rs 87.12 crore by the state government, as state share upto ending January 2012. Sources said that the further grants to the States under the NRHM would also depend on the progress made by them under the flagship programme and benefits extended in providing health care to the rural people besides satisfactory utilization of funds for the past seven years. “State is making last ditch effort to present a rosy picture of its achievements, but on ground many of the projects are far from completion. It will affect the future funding pattern. Even Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had expressed his dismay about the scheme implementation”, said a source. Though enough funds had been sanctioned by the centre, but failure to utilize them have forced the Union Health Ministry to repeatedly warn state to streamline its implementation. “Last year even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had directed third party monitoring, after which the filed cells were established by the Health Department, but they have failed to provide correct picture”, said a official of the Health Department.