GUWAHATI, May 28 - Though nearly a month has passed since the State government announced formation of a committee to suggest measures on spending of the funds collected under Assam Arogya Nidhi, the committee is yet to meet even once.
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on April 29 had announced the decision of the government to form a committee of senior doctors to suggest measures on spending of the funds collected under the Assam Arogya Nidhi scheme. He also announced that the committee will comprise of Dr Tapan Saikia, Dr Nomal Bora, Dr Umesh Sharma, Dr Ilias Ali and Dr Subhas Khanna.
The Assam Tribune contacted two members of the committee to get their views on the issue and they revealed that the committee has not met even once till date. They said they were not aware on whether a formal notification has been issued by the government on the formation of the committee. They said they were ready to help out the government, but were not aware as to when the committee would be formally notified.
�I learnt from the media that I was included as a member of the committee formed to suggest measures to the government on spending under the Assam Arogya Nidhi. Naturally, I shall be happy to help out the government. But till date, I have not received any formal communication from the government. A committee cannot start functioning till it is formally notified,� one of the members of the committee said on condition of anonymity.
It may be mentioned here that after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, donations from cross sections of people of the state started pouring in to the Assam Arogya Nidhi to enable the government to fight the disease. More than Rs 100 crore was collected in the Assam Arogya Nidhi and the Health Minister announced that a committee would be formed to suggest measures to ensure that the money is spend in the best possible way.