The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Local bodies fail to utilise NRHM funds

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Local bodies fail to utilise NRHM funds

C. Maya

Government is learnt to have given a final warning

Rs.54 lakh released by March 21
Only Rs.2 lakh spent till date

Thiruvananthapuram: Paucity of funds had been the primary reason for the poor state of Government health care institutions so far. But a different drama of sorts is now being enacted in the Health Department, with officials running after various local bodies, entreating them to somehow utilise the Central funds at their disposal.

The Health Department has so far released the National Rural Health Mission’s (NRHM) funds for 2006-07 to the tune of Rs.54 lakh in Thiruvananthapuram district to all primary and community health care centres (PHCs/CHCs) for annual maintenance as well as any local health requirements.

The funds were released to all PHCs/CHCs by March 21 this year. The balance sheet as on September second week shows that of the Rs.54 lakh, all institutions have together managed to spend a little over Rs.2 lakh.

Lack of interaction

Thanks to the lack of interaction and cooperation between various local bodies and the Health Department, the remaining funds remain untouched.

With NRHM funds for the next year (2007-08) having already been allotted to the State, this poor utilisation of funds by public health institutions has indeed come as bad news for the Health Department. The Government is learnt to have given a final warning to the department officials and local body chiefs to ensure that the funds are utilised before the second week of October.

Utilisation drive

The officials have now embarked on an intensive ‘fund utilisation drive’ across the district to make the local bodies spend the funds that are at their disposal. Officials have called for meetings at 17 major PHCs/CHCs in the district, with the participation of all block/grama panchayat presidents, Health standing committee heads, medical officers and health field staff to discuss the ‘hurdles’ in spending funds.

Every PHC had been allotted Rs.50,000 as annual maintenance funds and Rs.25,000 as untied funds. The funds had been released into a joint bank account held by the medical officers in-charge and the respective panchayat presidents or a ward member and health worker. These are funds that can be utilised for improving the physical facilities in each PHC, such as constructing toilets, buying essential furniture, or engaging people for cleaning on daily wages.

Of the 72 institutions which received the funds, the Kunnathukal PHC alone has managed to utilise its money. The CHCs at Vithura, Kanyakulangara and Poovar have spent nearly Rs.20,000 each, while all others have returned zero expenditure statements.

Sub-centres

In contrast, the sub-centres in the district, which were allotted about Rs.45 lakh as untied funds (Rs.10,000 each), have utilised about 96 per cent of the funds.

Officials are perplexed as to why the local bodies or the medical officers have not bothered to utilise the funds when most health care institutions in the district are acutely short of facilities. The lack of coordination between the NRHM machinery, the department officials and the local bodies is said to be one of the reasons. Another one cited is that there is little awareness about the fund utilisation guidelines.

However, Health officials denied this vehemently. “All fund utilisation guidelines and GOs have been made into a booklet in Malayalam and given to all institutions. They are not even required to submit vouchers for the untied funds. The problem is not lack of awareness but that no one wants to take any responsibility,” a senior official said.

The Government doctors are only too familiar with the danger of ‘audit objections’ and are averse to taking responsibility for any expenditure. The guidelines do not specifically list the heads under which the funds can be utilised, but give only the general procedure.

Officials are hoping that their awareness campaign will prompt more spending.

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