Bhubaneswar: The state government has taken cognizance of a recent report published by this newspaper on red tapism in spending funds granted by the government for the welfare of leprosy cured patients in the state.
This newspaper, November 2, reported how the funds— allocated to the Khurda district administration meant for welfare of the leprosy cured persons as mandated under the Sahaya scheme— kept being unutilized due to sheer neglect of the bureaucrats. It was reported that despite several reminders from the state Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) the Khurda district administration kept sitting on the funds and did not spend it for the purpose it was meant for.
Odisha Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy, taking cognizance of the serious matter, ordered release of the funds and issuance of tenders for the same. The issue was brought to the notice of Tripathy by the department’s information officer Umakant Mohapatra. After the order from the office of Chief Secretary, the Khurda Collectorate officials swung into action and are likely to complete the tender process by the end of December 2019.
Under the Sahaya scheme meant for the leprosy cured persons, an array of activities were planned to ensure their welfare. Awareness camps were slated to be held in the district to extend social security assistance to the leprosy cured persons under the scheme.
The objective of such camps was to guide them to receive proper medical treatment and emotional care, counseling, teach them wellness and hygiene, assist them financially by engaging them in various income generation programmes and others. However non-utilisation of the same botched up the whole scheme in the district.
During the meeting with the Chief Secretary, it was pointed out that in 2017-18 `26.50 lakh funds were left unutilized while in 2018-19 `26.85 lakh remained non-utilised despite being sanctioned by the SSEPD department. The dept reminded of the sanctioned funds multiple times.
The provisions of the scheme ensure a rehabilitation kit worth `19,200 intended to be distributed to each eligible family while `5400 is to be given for orientation programmes. The whole scheme aims to make the leprosy cured self-reliant and make the rehabilitation process complete in the true sense.
