The Hindu : Health project: councillors to stage dharna

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 01, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Health project: councillors to stage dharna

By Our Special Correspondent

KOZHIKODE MARCH 31. The Kozhikode Mayor, Thottathil Ravindran, today said the Kozhikode Corporation was ready to continue implementation of the Reproductive Child Health (RCH) sub-project, if the State Government agreed to meet its expenditure.

The term of the World Bank-funded five-year project which was being implemented in Kozhikode from 1999 to meet the health needs of mothers and new-borns ended today after being given extension for a year.

At a press conference here today, the Mayor said the Corporation councillors would organise a dharna tomorrow in front of the TB Clinic at Idiyangara, which was set up under the project, to press its demand that the Corporation should be allowed to run the sub-project with State funds. The Government Secretary for Health had requested him over telephone a few days ago to take necessary measures for the takeover of the project by the Kozhikode Corporation. But the Mayor had told him the request should come from the Government and not from an official. Earlier another official had also made a similar request, he said.

The Mayor alleged the project's implementation had slackened after its implementation was entrusted by the Government to a committee headed by the District Collector. An implementation committee headed by the Mayor was monitoring the project when it was introduced. But after the change of Government, a new committee was reconstituted.

When the Mayor, a CPI(M) nominee, protested that the members of the newly-constituted committee were UDF supporters, the implementation of the project was handed over to a committee headed by the District Collector. The Mayor said the implementation committee headed by the District Collector had not fully utilised the available funds after the project came under its purview nearly two-and-a-half years ago.

The Corporation had lent the services of its employees, including medical and paramedical staff for the project. The Mayor distributed copies of a letter from V.K. Behal, Deputy Director General, Department of Family Welfare of the Central Government which reminded the State Government since the RCH sub-project was due to close on March 31 the expenditure for its activities, beyond that date, would have to be borne by the State Government itself.

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