Apart from hammering a massive blow on the reputation and image of the Naveen Patnaik administration, the recent health disaster in Orissa — the outbreak of cholera and death of hundreds of people in the tribal belt of Koraput, Rayagara and Kalahandi districts — has once again brought to the fore the mismanagement and misappropriation of huge amount of public funds, which had been pumped into the region, one of the poorest in the country, during the last one decade.
In 1996, the Central government announced a long term action plan (LTAP) for the development of the backward Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region in Orissa. The scheme was revised subsequently. And during 1998-2007, the Centre provided the state government an assistance of Rs 2,800 crore under the Revised Long Term Action Plan (RLTAP), of which the state government managed to spend Rs 2300 crore.
Despite utilisation of such a huge amount of money, the region has still remained backward. The tribals are still dying out of starvation and diseases as well as other poverty related reasons. Basic facilities like health services, education and employment continue to be a distance dream for them.
In fact, this is not for the first time a disease like cholera has hit the region. If a report is to be believed, more than two thousand people had died in the region between January 2002 and December 2005, because of water-borne diseases. The area had also hit the national headlines in 2001 for a series of starvation deaths in Kashipur block in Rayagara district. Kashipur along with Dasmanatpur block in Koraput has once again turned out to be the epicentre of cholera outbreak now.
Under normal circumstances the picture would have been rosy had the money released for the development works been used properly. It is now the duty of the government to set up an inquiry commission to find out where all the money released for the poor has gone. Stringent action should be initiated against the officials and others involved in the mismanagement of the funds meant for the poor.
Reacting to the Union’s indication, a few months back, that it may not be possible to fund the RLTAP anymore, the BJD-BJP government in the state has announced a scheme of its own for the development of the KBK region called Biju KBK Yojana. Before implementing the new scheme the government must strengthen and clean up the delivery system. Otherwise, it will be a sheer wastage of public money.
Now back to the recent cholera deaths, the outbreak of the disease disturbed many people across the state because the government had not taken notice of the situation despite prior warning from different quarters. Apart from repeated warnings from NGOs about the deteriorating health care system in the region, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in one of its reports last year had also castigated the state government for not taking measures to provide safe drinking water to the people.
The cholera issue has already become political with the opposition parties led by the Congress leaving no stone unturned to make maximum capital out of it. However, what the state Congress is forgetting is that the situation in the KBK region was no better during its rule.