THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre’s ambitious initiative for providing financial assistance to pregnant women via the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is yet to gain momentum in the state.For the Centre is yet to provide user credentials for nine districts, making it tough for officers to implement the programme across the state.The delay from the Health officers in properly authenticating the Mother and Child Protection card is also hampering timely implementation of the programme.
The much-hyped PMMVY programme envisaged a year ago by the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre has gained pace in just five districts of Kerala. C Sundari, Joint Director of the Directorate of Women and Child Development (DWCD) – which is the implementing agency of the programme in the state – said the process had only started.
“The only difficulty in other districts is they are yet to receive user credentials from the Centre. We have given details of all the anganwadis. The Centre has to upload it to the PMMVY Common Application Software. At present, details of only five districts have been taken up for uploading. Once the details of all the districts are uploaded and the user credentials are received , the programme will be implemented in full swing,’’ she said, adding the mandatory monitoring/steering committee was yet to be formed in the state.
Kerala is not the only state where PMMVY has not been implemented. A majority of the states are yet to take up the initiative. This delay had even prompted some of the top economists in the country to write to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley pointing out the slow implementation of the mega programme.
Roping In Health Workers
With the Health Department said to have not taken serious note of the programme, the DWCD has sent a communication to the Director of Health Services (DHS) for ensuring speedy implementation.
The communication was sent after the Centre asked the respective implementing agencies in the states to speed up the initiative. In the communication, DWCD has asked the DHS to allocate half an hour during the meetings of District Medical Officers for creating awareness among the officers about the programme. The DWCD has noted many a time, officers are unaware of properly marking the details in the Mother and Child Protection (MCP) Card. It has also said an officer from the Social Justice department will be made available during the meetings. “Authentication is a must in MCP Card for releasing the amount and to avoid manipulation. We have sent a communication to DHS for creating awareness among the health officers regarding the programme,” she said.