CBI to land at Mayawati's door in NRHM scam?

With Uttar Pradesh in its last leg of Assembly elections, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has stumbled upon a lead in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, which may land investigators at the door of Chief Minister Mayawati.

Despite the Central Government’s categorical instructions that Family Welfare department should not be separated from Medical Health, Mayawati’s office gave permission for creation of a ‘mechanism’ to use NRHM money for family welfare schemes.

In Mayawati’s cabinet, the Minister of Health was Anant Mishra and the Minister of Family Welfare was Babu Singh Kushwaha. Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of all the 72 districts used to report to the Health Minister, Anant Mishra.

Against this backdrop, Kushwaha, known for his proximity to Mayawati in the Cabinet during its initial days, was given permission in early 2009 to create 72 posts of CMOs overnight under Family Welfare and fill these vacancies to carry out medical projects under NRHM.

Kushwaha himself sent this proposal to Mayawati and her office returned the proposal with a note that `it has the approval of the CM’.

According to CBI sources, no procedure was followed in the appointment of new CMOs. Existing CMOs were excused from handling NRHM projects on the grounds that they had too much on their plates and they should concentrate on public health.

The proposal once approved by Mayawati’s office was not sent to the Administration for the appointment of the new CMOs (Family Welfare) as per the norms and procedures. Overnight, the vacancies were filled and NRHM money was put to use at an extraordinary speed.

Till now, the Central Government has given the State Government Rs 9,472.25 crore under NRHM. There were two CMOs now in each district in UP – one for the Medical Health and another for the family welfare. Interestingly, only the CMOs representing Family Welfare were authorized to use funds allocated under the NRHM.

Though public health is a State subject and the creation of two separate posts of CMOs does not constitute criminal culpability, the CBI fears that creation of entire chain of new CMOs without any norms and procedures created a mechanism for `open loot’ and NRHM money was diverted without any disdain.

In Bhim Nagar District, 70 women were listed delivering 250 children in less than two years. For each delivery, a woman gets Rs 1,400 under NRHM.

In some districts, NGOs simply culled out names of people over 60 years of age from the voters’ list and footed bills of cataract operations worth lakhs of rupees under NRHM. (Firstpost will bring out a separate article on cataract operations in one district as a case study.)

The recent raids on over 30 former CMOs was only to find more details on this new chain of CMOs who helped in the massive siphoning off NRHM money. The CBI is working on several money trails right now.

Anita Singh Pradhan, wife of BSP Member of Legislative Council (MLC), was awarded a plum medical project under NRHM worth lakhs of rupees. Overnight, many businessmen, who were into non-medical businesses, started their own medical companies to get NRHM projects. Many bureaucrats and politicians bought NGOs to get NRHM work.

Kushwaha’s ministry also tried to pull a fast one by routing major NRHM projects through state-owned public sector

undertakings (PSUs) to camouflage his alleged siphoning off NRHM money.

“This was to confuse the corruption trail and provide credibility to their hidden agenda by claiming that even state PSUs were brought in to use NRHM money,’’ a senior CBI official said.

Instead, state PSUs were used to award projects to people in a pre-decided manner. Former Health Secretary Pradeep Shukla is charged with routing three tenders (two for Modular Operation Theatres and one for installation of ROs in district hospitals) through UP Projects and Corporation Ltd (UPPCL), UP Processing and Construction Co-operative Federation Ltd (PACCFED) and UP State Information Commission (UPSIC) in a pre-decided manner.

Over Rs 9,000 crore was spent in the name of NRHM. The CBI has only investigated cases worth Rs 320 crore so far.

In some cases, the money trail is still on. There are two cases of construction of modular Operations Theatres (involving Rs 249 crore), installation of ROs and related civil works in 132 district hospitals (Rs 23 crore), upgradation of 134 health sub centres (Rs 13.4 crore), purchase of computers (Rs 9 crore), two cases of providing medical kits (Rs 38 crore) outdoor NRHM publicity (Rs 14 crore).

Only eight persons have been arrested so far. Kushwaha was questioned and has not been arrested so far.

Pradeep Shukla apparently came on his own to the CBI to clarify his position in the case. The CBI had then questioned him, but is likely to summon him soon after the UP elections. More arrests of prominent politicians are expected soon after the UP elections.

Secretary, Union Ministry of Health had issued a circular that family welfare should not be separated from public health, while disbursing NRHM money.

But the Mayawati government did not adhere to it. In 2011, when two CMOs died under suspicious conditions and there was a spate of attacks on medical officers, the State government finally withdrew the chain of 72 CMOs (Family Welfare) and implemented the Secretary’s circular. But it was too late by then.