HYDERABAD: A State health mission on the lines of National Health Mission will be constituted to deliver services by way of public-private participation in the health sector.

All existing joint ventures in the sector, including the Andhra Pradesh Right to Sight Society, would be amalgamated into the health mission, said K. Rosaiah, Finance and Health Minister. He told the Assembly during question hour on Monday that a recommendation to do away with such societies and integrate all public-private health programmes was made by the Centre in June.

Mr. Rosaiah was replying to a question by P. Janardhan Reddy (Cong) who alleged that the Right to Sight Society, headquartered at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute here, was functioning fraudulently.

It failed to comply with the statutory requirement of raising funds to match the State Government contribution.

The Minister said a sum of Rs. 12 crores released to the society was intact in a fixed deposit account.

He admitted that the society had raised only Rs. 2.75 crores. The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) had not found the society guilty of misutilisation of funds although he noted that it fell short of meeting the target. Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu appealed to Mr. Janardhan Reddy not to politicise the working of the society.

He reminded that the premier eye institute's Chairman Emeritus Gulapalli Nageswara Rao was president of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness.

Probe demanded

Mr. Reddy demanded a House committee or a CBI inquiry to probe the irregularities committed by the institute.

He said the hospital did not meet the requirement of treating 15 per cent of the patients free in consideration for receiving land concession from the State Government.

The poor patients were left on the pavement outside after operations, exposing them to the danger of infections. The Minister promised that an IAS officer would be asked to look into the affairs.

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