Audits will look into the money released to the states in the last seven years, says Ghulam Nabi Azad
The health ministry will conduct annual audits of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to detect irregularities in the utilization of funds. Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has written to the state governments seeking their cooperation on this.
“We have decided to go for an audit of NRHM fund utilization across the states,” Azad told reporters on Monday. “We will look into how much money has been released to the states in the last seven years. Wherever we have received information of irregularities, investigations have been initiated.”
The NRHM was launched in April 2005 to reduce maternal and infant mortality rate in India. While the scheme runs in all 28 states, it focuses on 18 with poor health indicators.
Azad didn’t specify which agency will conduct the audit.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which audits central and state government books and looks into the efficiency of government programmes, had audited the accounts of NRHM in Uttar Pradesh on the state government’s request.
However a CAG spokesperson said it has not yet been informed “about any such audit”.
Amit Sengupta of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a non-governmental organization advocating affordable healthcare, said the NRHM has done well in some states but the scheme’s in-built audit system, called the common review mission, needs to be strengthened for better implementation.
“There is evidence that since NRHM’s launch health indicators in various states have improved,” said Sengupta. “It is essential to improve the in-built mechanism of checks and balances for financial and performance audits instead of banking on ad-hoc audits by CAG,”
Besides irregularities in spending, Azad said the lack of qualified nurses and doctors have limited the success of NRHM, the UPA’s flagship scheme to improve public health.