At a time when chief minister Mamata Banerjee is focusing on upgradation of healthcare in tribal areas of the state, a key health care programme — Tribal Health Project — under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is facing closure due to anomaly. The project is all set to discontinue from July.
The districts which are going to be affected due to the closure of the project include the three Maoist-hit districts of Jangalmahal: West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. Birbhum, Jalpaiguri and South Dinajpur are the rest of the districts. The development came after the Centre did not approve the further continuation of the project for the year 2012-13.
Health department sources indicated that the Centre found a “duplicity” in the plan outlay sent by the health department for approval. In the plan, “two health initiatives were shown for the same purpose which raised the eyebrows of the Centre,” according to sources.
In a June 4 order, commissioner of family welfare of the health department Dilip Ghosh, also the NRHM director of West Bengal, told the chief medical officer of health of the six districts: “Please note that the Tribal Health Project has not been approved by the Government of India for the year 2012-13. As the project had already been extended up to 30th June, 2012, vide Memo No. H/SFWB/296 (6) dated 22/03/2012 with the expectation that the project will be approved, the said project will continue till 30/6/2012 and from 1st July 2012 the project will cease to function.”