Poverty alleviation schemes under SC scanner

PATNA: N C Saxena, the courtcommissioner appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) in a PUCL versus Government ofIndia and others case to review the implementation of six national schemes indifferent states, is likely to reach Patna on August 20 on four-day visit toBihar. He will return to Delhi on August 24.Saxena willvisit different parts of the state during his stay here to evaluate theimplementation of the six national schemes by the state government.The six schemes are: public distribution system (PDS), mid-day mealscheme, old age pension scheme, maternity benefit scheme, annapurna yojna andsampoorna gramin rojgar yojna - all poverty alleviation schemes. TheSC is monitoring the implementation of these schemes in variousstates.Saxena would himself select the places he would like to visitduring his four-fay stay here. As per the supreme court directive, the stategovernment will have to implement the suggestion, if any, made by Saxena toimprove the implementation of the six poverty alleviation schemes in Bihar,according to secretariat sources.But, before his visit to the stateto assess the execution of these schemes happens, Saxena sought information fromthe state government on whether it had any success story. Thedevelopment commissioner M N Prasad, according to top sources in thesecretariat, informed the chief secretary K A H Subramaniyan about it onSaturday at a high level meeting convened by the relief and rehabilitationdepartment to discuss the proposed visit of Saxena, a retired IAS officer of UPcadre.The state government has reportedly identified polioeradication initiative, leprosy elimination campaign and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyanas its three major success stories.The President A P J Abdul Kalam,during his visit to Bihar in the last week of May, had appreciated the work ofthe state government in the field of polio and leprosyeradication.When contacted the health commissioner Ashok KumarChaudhary told TNN that the performance of the state government in the field ofleprosy elimination had been rated as the best in the country.Themedical education and family welfare secretary Afzal Amanullah said that he hadsent a polio update to Saxena. Amanullah claimed that this year only eight poliovirus cases had been reported in Bihar and the last case was reported on March4. He said that while no P2 polio virus had been detected in thestate since December 1998, no P3 wild virus had been detected since August 2001.In Bihar, he said, only P1 wild virus cases of polio had been reported.