Govt admits selection anomaly

SHIMLA, December 4: The Rs 92-crore World Bank funded project on Reproductive and Child Health RCH launched recently by Himachal Prades...

SHIMLA, December 4: The Rs 92-crore World Bank funded project on Reproductive and Child Health RCH launched recently by Himachal Pradesh Government has landed in a major controversy over sensitive issue of appointments of consultants, three of them retired doctors having no speciality in their fields.

The state government admits that consultants, who have joined over a month back and are now handling various project components, lacked requisite experience as well as minimum eligibility criteria for the jobs. 8220;None of them was qualified but we have still made the appointments,8221; a senior Health Department official confided to ENS today.

Highly placed sources said the selection panel, which did not have any World Bank representative on it, not only went ahead with interviews of the candidates but also bowed to pressures from high-ups to make the appointments. Deputy Director Health R. S. Dhiman, who is secretary of the newly formed RHC society says it was up to the Central government whether to approve the selections or reject them.

8220;We had no choice for the appointments since none of them was found eligible,8221; he maintains.

Health Minister J P Nadda too plays shy and admits that grave irregularities have been committed. 8220;I have received complaints about serious irregularities in the selection of all four consultants. An inquiry has already been ordered and whatever was needed to rectify the mistake, will definitely be done,8221; he says, agreeing to go on record. The four consultants also include a school teacher.

Sources said though the matter was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, immediately after orders for appointments were issued and he summoned the records. 8220;Yes, I have seen the records and other papers and have also reached conclusions that consultants did not have requisite qualification and experience,8221; he confirms and adds that directions had been issued to the health minister to take appropriate action.

Although a month has passed, officials continue to shield the matter even as the World Bank has a special cell to look into the complaints of irregularities in the projects funded by the bank in various sectors. Experts say that in absence of trained and experienced staff, the project was bound to suffer from various inherent problems. The basic aim of the project was to provide quality care for expectant mothers and new-born babies in rural areas. The Health Department, however, says the project was almost a renewed form of the family welfare programme being implemented in various states. Sirmaur was the first district to be taken up under the project.

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Even before launching of the project, Nadda had told a news conference that the government would appoint only experienced trained and qualified consultants. None of the appointees, officials say, had any speciality, desirable experience of working with NGOs at programme management of state, district or national levels.

8220;It is strange that those, who were not even eligible for being called for the interviews, had been appointed,8221; wonders former health minister Ram Lal Thakur. He alleges that the whole project was bound to go haywire and could even be withdrawn by the World Bank, if the government did not rectify the mistakes.