State Bureau, Lucknow. The Health Ministry has given instructions to reduce the posts of employees in the National Health Mission (NHM). The ministry has asked to limit the expenditure on human resources to 50 percent.
There are more than 300 employees at NHM headquarters. Apart from this, about 1.50 lakh employees are working in the districts and fields. Every year more than four thousand crore rupees are spent on these in the form of salaries and incentives. The ministry has given instructions to reduce this. He believes that by spending more budget on human resources, less money will be left for medicines, diagnostics and infrastructure.
The budget for the year 2024-25 and 2025-26 for NHM was proposed to be around Rs 36 thousand crores. Out of this, more than 50 percent of the budget has not been spent in two years. Most of the budget has gone towards salaries.
Now NHM Director and Additional Secretary, Health Ministry, Aradhana Patnaik has directed that the budget should be used to improve health services and not spend most of it in the form of salaries and allowances. Under this, payment of salaries of regular government employees from NHM program management head has been completely banned. Program management costs will be nine percent of the total budget.
If the expenditure exceeds this, unnecessary administrative posts will be eliminated. The positions of highly paid consultants will be reviewed. If their salary exceeds the market rate, it will be reduced or their contract will not be renewed.
Emphasis has been laid on eliminating separate administrative units of programs like tuberculosis, malaria and leprosy and integrating them. The system of one employee one program will be abolished. Emphasis will be given to those doing multi-skilled and multi-functional work. The posts which are vacant for the last one or two years are being considered automatically abolished under the financial rules. Due to which there will be no new recruitments.
Unnecessary or low priority posts will be eliminated. The vacant posts will be frozen. Posts vacant due to retirement or resignation will not be filled again. The annual salary increase of employees will be stopped or limited. Additional Chief Secretary Amit Ghosh says that action has been taken as per the guidelines received from the Centre. Positions and programs are being evaluated.