Pro-poor schemes in AP risk losing public faith, unless...
The hype and positive energy surrounding the
pro-poor welfare schemes of the YS Rajasekhar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh is slowly giving way to some criticism. All those schemes that initially drew public applause are now being questioned for their alleged lack of transparency. There are two lines of question being posed by analysts: One, can the government safely transfer its responsibilities to private parties? Two, what exact measures are being taken to ensure that corrupt officials do not end up lining their pockets; especially with vital sectors like health and education at the receiving end?
Among the prominent schemes is Rajiv Arogyasri – a health insurance plan that aims to provide free quality treatment to all below poverty line (BPL) families, including surgery for major ailments. If implemented, this one could become a trailblazer – being an innovative insurance scheme that allows those covered by it to send the bills to the hospitals. But in practice, say the scheme’s critics, the programme benefits corporate hospitals at the cost of the poor.
There is, for instance, the case concerning the reputed government-run 1000-bed Gandhi Hospital. When the scheme was unveiled, the hospital authorities who were tasked with carrying out over 80,000 annual outpatient consultations and ensuring in-patient admissions of around 42,000, had pledged to perform 1,000 surgeries in a year. But between January and May, 2009, the hospital reported only 85 heart surgeries. The head of the cardiology wing, Dr BT Prasada Rao, justified this saying, “Earlier, under Arogyasri, if we conducted a surgery costing Rs 1 lakh, our department received Rs 20,000 as maintenance. Lately, however, we have been denied these funds. So we are able to do nothing about the matter.” Although one cannot pass a value judgement, the fact is that at the end of the argument, the poor remain not empowered. One fears the collateral damage of this above issue will hurt two other benchmark schemes. Under one scheme, the government has pledged to get poor students enrolled in corporate sector schools, which currently have a 90 per cent share of the state’s schooling segment. And under another scheme, launched on Independence Day, people were promised a mineral water scheme. Under it, water purification plants, each costing Rs 2 lakh, were to have been set up by women in 1,000-1,500 population clusters. Each family member was promised five litres every day, and 20 litres could be had for just Rs 2.
It's quite clear that the power these schemes have to help the poor is massive. But unless YS Rajasekhar moves fast to quell critics, public faith will be lost.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
The hype and positive energy surrounding the
pro-poor welfare schemes of the YS Rajasekhar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh is slowly giving way to some criticism. All those schemes that initially drew public applause are now being questioned for their alleged lack of transparency. There are two lines of question being posed by analysts: One, can the government safely transfer its responsibilities to private parties? Two, what exact measures are being taken to ensure that corrupt officials do not end up lining their pockets; especially with vital sectors like health and education at the receiving end?Among the prominent schemes is Rajiv Arogyasri – a health insurance plan that aims to provide free quality treatment to all below poverty line (BPL) families, including surgery for major ailments. If implemented, this one could become a trailblazer – being an innovative insurance scheme that allows those covered by it to send the bills to the hospitals. But in practice, say the scheme’s critics, the programme benefits corporate hospitals at the cost of the poor.
There is, for instance, the case concerning the reputed government-run 1000-bed Gandhi Hospital. When the scheme was unveiled, the hospital authorities who were tasked with carrying out over 80,000 annual outpatient consultations and ensuring in-patient admissions of around 42,000, had pledged to perform 1,000 surgeries in a year. But between January and May, 2009, the hospital reported only 85 heart surgeries. The head of the cardiology wing, Dr BT Prasada Rao, justified this saying, “Earlier, under Arogyasri, if we conducted a surgery costing Rs 1 lakh, our department received Rs 20,000 as maintenance. Lately, however, we have been denied these funds. So we are able to do nothing about the matter.” Although one cannot pass a value judgement, the fact is that at the end of the argument, the poor remain not empowered. One fears the collateral damage of this above issue will hurt two other benchmark schemes. Under one scheme, the government has pledged to get poor students enrolled in corporate sector schools, which currently have a 90 per cent share of the state’s schooling segment. And under another scheme, launched on Independence Day, people were promised a mineral water scheme. Under it, water purification plants, each costing Rs 2 lakh, were to have been set up by women in 1,000-1,500 population clusters. Each family member was promised five litres every day, and 20 litres could be had for just Rs 2.
It's quite clear that the power these schemes have to help the poor is massive. But unless YS Rajasekhar moves fast to quell critics, public faith will be lost.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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