A Parliamentary panel has pulled up the Union Health Ministry for tardy progress in the implementation of the crucial project envisaging construction of four Metro blood banks each in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The banks aim to have state of the art facilities with blood components preparation and capacity to process more than 1,00,000 units of blood annually.
However, the long delay in setting up the banks which were conceived way back in 2011, has irked the panel led by MP Ram Gopal Yadav. It has submitted its report recently in the Parliament.
Noting that the National Aids Control Department under the Ministry had made a provision of Rs404 crore (in revised estimates 2015-16 and 2016-17), the panel has taken serious exception that nothing was spent, leading to idle parking of the funds.
Subsequently, it has led to the eventual surrendering of the entire budgeted funds for the Scheme for the two consecutive years, said the panel.
First phase of project has been approved for two centres in Delhi and Chennai. Though Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Tamil Nadu Government for Chennai bank, Delhi is yet to do so. “There is so far nil expenditure in the fiscal year 2016-17. The committee observed that the budgetary provisions to the tune of Rs83 crore had been made in 2014-15 for setting up the banks, but the entire amount had to be surrendered due to non-appr-oval of the project by Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC).
Expressing its dismay at the NACO’s performance in executing the project, the panel said, “Evidently, the NACO appears to be oblivious to the ground reality on the implementation of the project. There should be no further delay in implementing this programme.”
The surrendering of the budgeted funds is indicative of the fact that the department has not played its role as a facilitator well in implementing the Scheme that has a significant bearing on improving the NACP interventions, it added.
The proposal for setting up of metro blood banks was one of the approved activities under National Aids Control Programme-Phase III. Facilities for screening of collected blood by NAT would be made available at these centres and also extended to the other blood banks of the four as well nearby States.