Sources in the health department on Thursday said the department was still pursuing the case with the Union health ministry. (Representational)
Services provided by the UT health department may be severely affected as the Union health ministry has shot down the former’s demand for an annual budget of Rs 54.35 crore for the 2018-19 financial year. The Centre has decided to give Rs 25 crore instead. Chandigarh gets funds from the Centre under the National Health Mission (NHM).
If the Union ministry does not agree to increase funds, health services are expected to be badly hit, claimed UT officials. 108 ambulance service run by the Chandigarh health department, medicines provided under the essential drugs list and services provided to pregnant women under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) scheme are some of the programmes that are expected to suffer.
Sources in the health department on Thursday said the department was still pursuing the case with the Union health ministry. “At present, there is no interruption in any service. But, we may face problems in time to come because all the health programmes in the city are funded by NHM. We will not even be able to fill the vacant posts,” said a senior health official, adding that no specific answer has been given by the Union ministry for the funds cut.
At the beginning of the year, the Chandigarh health department had submitted its Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) under NHM and sought Rs 54.35 crore. In April, the health department was informed that the ceiling for funds would be Rs 21.20 crore. It was then that UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore was apprised of the situation.
Badnore then took up the matter with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. A letter written by Badnore to Union Health Minister J P Nadda last month and accessed by Chandigarh Newsline said that of the Rs 54.35 crore sought under PIP, a budget of Rs 26 crore was required for the existing manpower and Rs 21.53 crore is required for the existing activities (health programmes). It said the budget conveyed was “inadequate in meeting our immediate requirements”.
The letter further stated that the ministry had sanctioned Rs 43.46 crore for the 2016-17 financial year and Rs 48.75 crore for 2017-18. Badnore stated that the “slashing of budget shall bring the health service delivery in Chandigarh to a standstill and also affect the lives of all those employed under the National Health Mission”. Soon after the letter arrived, sources said the ministry informed the Chandigarh health department that they had increased the budget by Rs 3 crore, taking it to around Rs 25 crore.
A senior health official told Chandigarh Newsline on Thursday that they were in touch with the ministry and they hoped to find a solution soon. The official added that the matter was also taken up with Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, recently and he has assured of looking into it.