Mayawati says ready for CAG audit of NRHM

Lucknow, July 22: Under attack over alleged misuse of funds worth crores of rupees in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mayawati government on Thursday said it was ready for a special audit by Comptroller and Auditor General of the programme.

"A request letter in this regard has been written to the CAG, Government of India, today by the chief secretary of the state Anup Misra," an official spokesman said here, in continuing damage-control exercise by Mayawati who had yesterday recommended a CBI probe into NRHM irregularities.

A Union Health Ministry audit had found misuse and misappropriation of funds to the tune of hundreds of crores in the scheme in the last two years. A 20-member team, constituted by the Ministry in May this year following complaints of misuse of NRHM funds in Uttar Pradesh, also found anomalies in procurement and civil construction work.

In its 400-page report to the Ministry, the team's audit had said, "Irregularities in procedures were noticed during awarding of contracts for mobile medical units, hospital waste management, hospital cleaning and gardening, safe drinking water (RO System) etc".

The Allahabad High Court had on Monday given the Uttar Pradesh government one-week time to file a reply on a PIL seeking CBI probe into the alleged swindling of NRHM funds in the state.

Attacking the Mayawati government over the NRHM issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said any other government would have resigned after the scam came to light.

"It is an open fact that there have been irregularities. If such a thing would have happened in Maharashtra or Delhi or Haryana or Punjab, the government there would have resigned the same day," Rahul said.

PTI