The Health Department was censured by 16th Subject Committee on Health and Family Welfare (1998-99) which had placed its report in the State Assembly in June this year. The 17-member committee, which included both the Health Minister Partha De and Family Welfare Minister Minati Ghosh, headed by Chairman Dr Gauri Pada Dutta, has severely criticised the State Health Department for the `mal-utilisation of funds, if not delinquency' that come for the `externally-aided health projects.'

The report, which can be read as a long tirade, said in its previous recommendations ``the committee agreed that the State may accept the World Bank assistance to revitalise and reorganise thecurative services from the block level to the District Hospitals.

``The committee repeatedly insisted that before implementation of the World Bank Loan Project a proper evaluation of the buildings, equipment and manpower should be done,'' the report said.

During the discussion, the report noted, both the Committee and the Department and the project officials also agreed on maintaining certain basic rules while implementing these projects.

But despite these `agreement', the report felt it ``is constrained to note that after about 4 years of agreement with the externally aided agency, the recommendation of the Committee has not been implemented in an adequate manner.''

More gallingly the report said, the popular expectation, which `this loan' gave rise to, ``has been belied up till now. There was no impact of this externally aided project on the people and also on the functioning of the health care delivery of the State. On the other hand, it has become a source of mal-utilisation of the fund if notdelinquency.''