Statesman News Service
MALDA, Jan. 18: State health minister Dr Surya Kanta Mishra today instructed the officials of four districts ~ Malda, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Murshidabad ~ to utilise the funds allotted for the development of health services latest by March this year. The minister, who held a meeting with the officials of the four districts here today, expressed concern after it was found that a sum of nearly Rs 25 crore released by the state government for development of health services has remained unspent. The minister said that the officials of the four districts were supposed to utilise the funds by December 2006. “A sum of Rs 8 crore has remained unspent in Malda, Rs 7 crore in Murshidabad, Rs 6 crore in South Dinajpur and Rs 4 crore in North Dinajpur,” the minister told reporters here today. He said that the state government had allotted Rs 600 crore for all districts in this financial year. “Overall a sum of Rs 117 crore has remained unspent in the state,” he said. Meanwhile, Dr Mishra stressed upon the need to develop sub-centres in the four districts and allotted Rs 20,000 each for these districts for the health infrastructure development and treatment of patients. The minister announced that Rs 50,000 and Rs100, 000 would be allotted for the development of primary and block health centres, respectively, in the state. He said that the government has appointed qualified staff to execute programme management and ensure better health services in the backward districts based on the “health index” as reported in the routine survey. “The state government has planned to convert the primary health centres into 10-bed rural hospitals. Two doctors each would remain on duty in these proposed hospitals,” the minister, said. He also instructed the officials concerned to expedite the implementation of accredited social health activist (ASHA) programme through non-government organisations under the National Rural Health Mission project. He said that to curb the mosquito menace, malaria experts of entomology department, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, will conduct a study on “mosquitoes behaviour and character” in Jalpaiguri and the adjoining districts.
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