Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi over release of central funds under NHM

West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him for immediate release of funds under the National Health Mission. In her letter dated November 29, Mamata Banerjee has claimed that centre has withheld the release of funds due to non-compliance with colour branding guidelines for Health and Wellness Centres. She had however assured that all other conditions were fulfilled.

"l would earnestly request you to kindly intervene for immediate release of NHM funds for West Bengal and for removal of specific colour-branding conditionalities for the health and wellness centres for fund release under NHM so that poor people do not suffer from lack of quality health services”, Banerjee wrote in her letter.

Sources within Bengal government claim some of the conditions set by the Centre included painting the health centres in the colour code of brown-saffron and also name them ‘Ayshman Arogya Mandir’. Bengal government hadn’t signed up for Ayushman scheme and had been running the state health scheme called ‘Swastha Sethi’ instead.

Mamata Banerjee in her letter to the PM has claimed that rebranding the 11000 health centres in the state would be an "infructuous expenditure”.

Withholding of Central funds have been a major issue of face-off between State and Centre. Bengal BJP has claimed that centre’s schemes were renamed by state for political gains and thus the funds were restricted. Whereas the state has maintained that schemes should be named after people and region instead of being named after the Prime Minister. For example, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna funds have been stalled, state claims for over 21 lakh beneficiaries.

Mamata Banerjee had herself led a protest sit in demonstration against Centre on Wednesday at the state assembly, calling vendetta politics of BJP. Other TMC MLAs had joined her sit in protest that lasted for over 2 hours. BJP claims that centre’s funds have been used inappropriately and fund release should happen subject to scrutiny.