Lucknow:
As Uttar Pradesh heads for elections, the Mayawati government finds itself bearing the weight of a scandal of huge proportions. Money sent by the centre for improving health care has disappeared over the years. The CBI has been asked by the Allahabad High Court to investigate the National Health Rural Mission (NHRM) scam. Today, Sunil Verma, an officer accused in this scam, shot himself in the head in his government flat in Lucknow. Before this, three other men entangled with the scam have died. The story of the swindle is one of bare-faced corruption. These are its five big facts:
1) What is the scam? In 2005, the UPA government launched the National Health Rural Mission Scheme or NHRM. Huge amounts of money were to be sent to states to provide accessible and affordable health care to the poorest families in remote regions. The centre set aside 8000 crores for UP for a period of six years. The state government was to use this money to construct health centres in rural areas and ensure they were stocked with medicines and working equipment.
2) A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) says that close to 5000 crores has gone missing in UP. The report says that top officials of the Family Welfare Department formed a Programme Management Society to implement and monitor NHRM. The society was never registered and was therefore illegal. Instead of giving money directly to the agencies executing the project, the department always routed it through the Programme Management Society. The society floated false tenders for vehicles that were never bought and medical centres which were never built. A huge amount of money was also stolen from the Purchases Department where all decisions were taken by a single officer, instead of three as required by law.
3) Four funerals: In October 2010, Dr Vinod Arya was shot by a group of men on motorcycles while on his morning walk. He was the Chief Medical Officer for Lucknow in the Family Welfare Department - which meant that he was responsible for implementing the scheme in the district. Six months later, the man who took over from him, Dr BP Singh, was also killed near his home by motorcyclists. And then in June 2011, Yogendra Singh Sachan, who worked for both the doctors who were murdered, was found dead at a Lucknow jail. The police alleged that Dr Sachan was worried that both his bosses were about to expose the financial crimes he had reportedly helped construct. At first the government said he had committed suicide. Later, injury marks found on his body led to the government acknowledging "mysterious circumstances." Today, Sunil Verma, a Project Manager in the UP Jal Nigam, whose home had been raided on January 4, killed himself. Sources close to his family say he had gone into depression over the allegations he confronted.
4) Mayawati's response: In an interview to NDTV today, the Chief Minister described the investigation into the swindle, and its findings, as a political conspiracy designed to undermine her ahead of the state's elections. She said that the centre released funds for the health scheme in installments, and that the funding was monitored by the central government. Therefore, she argues, if there were irregularities and instances of corruption, why didn't the central government object earlier and pause the funds?
5) Babu Singh Kushwaha, who was Minister of Family Welfare, was sacked by Mayawati in April last year, after the murders of the chief medical officers forced the government to acknowledge the deep-rooted graft in his department. Earlier this month, Mr Kushwaha defected to the BJP, with sharp repercussions. The Congress accused the BJP of providing a "dust-bin" for Mayawati's corrupt ministers. Leaders like Maneka Gandhi and Uma Bharti, the former publicly and the latter privately, took on their party leadership for accepting a man being investigated for improbity. The BJP then said that Mr Kushwaha would not be used in the party's campaign in UP. Mr Kushwaha then wrote a letter to the BJP asking that his membership be suspended till he is cleared of the charges against him.
1) What is the scam? In 2005, the UPA government launched the National Health Rural Mission Scheme or NHRM. Huge amounts of money were to be sent to states to provide accessible and affordable health care to the poorest families in remote regions. The centre set aside 8000 crores for UP for a period of six years. The state government was to use this money to construct health centres in rural areas and ensure they were stocked with medicines and working equipment.
2) A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) says that close to 5000 crores has gone missing in UP. The report says that top officials of the Family Welfare Department formed a Programme Management Society to implement and monitor NHRM. The society was never registered and was therefore illegal. Instead of giving money directly to the agencies executing the project, the department always routed it through the Programme Management Society. The society floated false tenders for vehicles that were never bought and medical centres which were never built. A huge amount of money was also stolen from the Purchases Department where all decisions were taken by a single officer, instead of three as required by law.
3) Four funerals: In October 2010, Dr Vinod Arya was shot by a group of men on motorcycles while on his morning walk. He was the Chief Medical Officer for Lucknow in the Family Welfare Department - which meant that he was responsible for implementing the scheme in the district. Six months later, the man who took over from him, Dr BP Singh, was also killed near his home by motorcyclists. And then in June 2011, Yogendra Singh Sachan, who worked for both the doctors who were murdered, was found dead at a Lucknow jail. The police alleged that Dr Sachan was worried that both his bosses were about to expose the financial crimes he had reportedly helped construct. At first the government said he had committed suicide. Later, injury marks found on his body led to the government acknowledging "mysterious circumstances." Today, Sunil Verma, a Project Manager in the UP Jal Nigam, whose home had been raided on January 4, killed himself. Sources close to his family say he had gone into depression over the allegations he confronted.
4) Mayawati's response: In an interview to NDTV today, the Chief Minister described the investigation into the swindle, and its findings, as a political conspiracy designed to undermine her ahead of the state's elections. She said that the centre released funds for the health scheme in installments, and that the funding was monitored by the central government. Therefore, she argues, if there were irregularities and instances of corruption, why didn't the central government object earlier and pause the funds?
5) Babu Singh Kushwaha, who was Minister of Family Welfare, was sacked by Mayawati in April last year, after the murders of the chief medical officers forced the government to acknowledge the deep-rooted graft in his department. Earlier this month, Mr Kushwaha defected to the BJP, with sharp repercussions. The Congress accused the BJP of providing a "dust-bin" for Mayawati's corrupt ministers. Leaders like Maneka Gandhi and Uma Bharti, the former publicly and the latter privately, took on their party leadership for accepting a man being investigated for improbity. The BJP then said that Mr Kushwaha would not be used in the party's campaign in UP. Mr Kushwaha then wrote a letter to the BJP asking that his membership be suspended till he is cleared of the charges against him.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
