Fighting over release of funds among officials of different departments with the state finance department has been turning into a controversy in Andhra Pradesh administration.
Vijayawada: Three months left for the end of closer of the current financial year, senior officials in Andhra Pradesh government are finding fault with the officials of the state finance department.
The bone of contention is that the Principal Secretary for Finance Dr P V Ramesh considered as a close buddy of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is turning into more and more miser these days and delaying the release of funds. Even those who are senior to him have been trying to convince Ramesh, there is no let off in the situation and works on ground of several departments are taking a beating.
According to rumors doing rounds, this time Ramesh has stepped up his ante for the reasons unknown with the Principal Secretary for Medical and Health Poonam Malakondaiah. Known for her non nonsense way of working, Poonam had reportedly sent files to the finance department for release of funds meant for Janani Surakshana Yojana to the tune of Rs 200 Cr. The JSY funds come from the Centre and they are meant to provide financial incentives to the prospective mothers to come to hospitals for delivery. The institutional deliveries are encouraged to contain the high Maternal Mortality Rates going up in the state. There are other funds to provide nutritious suppliant to the newly born so as to prevent Child Mortality Rates, and, conducting free diagnostic tests for prospective mothers and the like. However, since two months the files related to the release of funds are going rounds, but there was positive sign of getting them released, the sources say.
Though the issue very much in the knowledge of the Minister for Finance Yenamala Ramakrishnudu and Medical and Health Minister Dr Kamineni Srinivas, the unperturbed Ramesh, seems to have his own time to release funds, and there were about more than one lakh prospective mothers in the state reportedly affected on account of non release of funds by the state finance department.
