LAHORE, June 25: The population welfare programme has failed to meet its targets due to inconsistent government policies and lack of political support.

This was stated by Punjab population welfare secretary Javed Malik while responding to questions during a discussion on the 1997-98 Performance Audit Report of the department at a meeting of the Adhoc Public Accounts Committee at the Punjab Assembly Chambers here on Tuesday.

The secretary said the execution of the plan was entrusted to the health department after its launch as the family planning programme during the first five-year plan and again in the second five-year plan. But the department never gave any priority to it during the whole period. Whatever was done for the population welfare during the period was done by the private sector, he added.

Mr Malik said the programme was started at the federal, provincial and district level simultaneously during the third five-year plan in 1976 and was federalized in 1981. It was defederalized in 1983 giving rise to the disputes of seniority within the department and the insistence of the employees to be considered the federal government servants for better service benefits. The Supreme Court declared them federal government employees after prolonged litigation in 1993. The government again amended the law in July, 2001, defederalizing the department “notwithstanding the decision of the court”.

The department is to be provincialized from July 1 now.

He said the family welfare clinics programme was started in 1976 when the programme could not achieve its objectives because of inherent contradiction with midwives on which it relied during the initial 1965-70 phase. Their livelihood depended on the birth of the children which the programme sought to check. Seventy tehsil level mobile service units comprising doctors and paramedical staff were introduced during the seventh five-year plan. Every mobile unit was meant for a population of 50,000. As many as 940 contraceptive service units with a reach for 5,000 population each were also opened. Field technical officers of ages exceeding 50 years were also appointed.

Mr Malik said the performance audit report had been prepared without visiting any prominent reproductive health centre or contacting any director. The report pertaining to 1997-98 was being discussed in 2202 when the directors working at the time of preparation of the report had retired except one who was out of the country. He had been invited for discussion on the report but had not been provided its copy.

He said he had to procure the copy of the report from his own sources.

He said discussion on the performance of year 1997-98 was being held in the year 2002 when ninth five-year plan was due to be launched in December.

Replying to a question of PAC chairman Riaz Bokhari, Mr Malik said the federal government prepared the cost estimates of the programme and fixed its targets. He said the targets fixed for the programme were unrealistic and a dual policy was being pursued in respect of the sale proceeds of the contraceptives. The health department was being allowed to retain half of the proceeds but the population welfare department was required to deposit all the proceeds with the government.

To another question of the PAC chairman, he said the programme had been launched without determining the cost by starting a pilot project. This had made the costs exaggerated. Giving an example, he said Rs1 million per annum had been allocated for the maintenance of every reproductive health centre unit building whereas the actual maintenance costs were only Rs100,000 per unit per annum. The PAC chairman remarked that it indicated that there were gaps in the planning process. Moreover the process itself was not dependable.

The secretary said the programme’s objectives could not be achieved without the allocation of required funds. He said he was provided only Rs746 million against a demand for Rs1,100 million. He would not be able to open the required number of reproductive health centres due to the paucity of funds. He said the centres had not been properly distributed either. For example, more than the required number of centres had been opened in Lahore and Rawalpindi where the people had access to services from non-government sources as well. He said 28,000 population workers were required in the province for the national population welfare programme of 1993 but the actual number available was 22,000.

Moreover, Mr Malik said, the programme’s reach was to 65 per cent population, which included private sector and NGOs, while the department’s reach was to 20 per cent population only.

Replying to a question about the population welfare strategy, he said the secretariat and programme setup required segregation from July. At present the programme did not have a secretariat setup. The policy of entrusting the charge of the centres to women required review as well. Male incharges could deliver better, he claimed.

Mr Malik said the population welfare programme in Bangladesh had been a great success due to the association of ‘maulavis’. They advised the newly married couple to use family planning techniques not only at the time of “nikah” but at the Isha prayers every night.

The PAC members said efforts should be made to involve them in the population welfare programme in the country as well. The PAC expressed concern over the significant increase in the publication of the aphrodisiac medicines in the newspapers and stressed the need for taking the notice of the phenomenon at the proper level.

The committee could not discuss the audit paras relating to the Service and General Administration Department, including the purchase of an aircraft by Punjab former chief minister Mian Manzoor Wattoo because the additional chief secretary, who is the principal accounts officer of the department, was not available for discussion. The audit paras will now be taken up on Wednesday (today). The secretary has assured to be present on the occasion. S&GAD secretary Riaz Ahmad appeared on his behalf on Tuesday but the PAC chairman and members insisted that he himself should be available for discussion on the audit paras. They expressed displeasure on his failure to attend the meeting.