Stop politicing, start governing

Maharashtra’s politicians, especially the ruling class, should be ashamed of themselves. Infants and patients are dying by the dozens in government hospitals and what are our rulers doing? One is sulking over district guardian ministries, one is attending media conclaves and one believes shaming the hospital dean by making him clean the toilets will earn him brownie points with his voters.

The deaths at Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur hospitals have brought shame to the state. But that, indeed, is nothing compared to the pain of bereaved families who have lost their loved ones. If you ask our rulers, they will advise you not to politicise these deaths. Oh, but this is the time to grieve and share the pain of the families, they will tell us.

A CM who believes money cures all

The Chief Minister, as is his wont, may also offer a few lakh rupees in compensation and will move on like nothing happened. We have seen this after the deaths caused by the heatstroke at Kharghar where the government was felicitating Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. We have seen this after almost every tragedy.

Petty Pawar

After the ghastly Samruddhi Expressway accident that claimed 25 lives, Ajit Pawar, the then Leader of Opposition, stayed home for a day claiming to mourn the dead and then next we saw him joining the government and taking oath as deputy Chief Minister even as the pyres of the accident victims were being lit. It was not a picture of political decency. Nor is it today. As the media is reporting deaths after deaths at government hospitals due to lack of medicines and adequate facilities, the man whose followers swear by his efficiency and his grasp of administration, is sitting at home, ostensibly because he is not well, but reportedly because he is unhappy over district guardian ministries.

Arrogant MP

As if this wasn’t enough, the Hingoli MP Hemant Patil decided to visit the hospital and angered by the unhygienic conditions there, made the hospital dean Dr Shyamrao Wakode clean the toilets. It did not occur to him that the unhygienic conditions were caused by the lack of sanitary staff and it was because the government had not filled their positions. Lokmat has reported how the funds were sanctioned for the hospital but were stuck in red tape. The MP could not ascertain these facts from the hospital staff who would have also told him they were forced to cram 65 infants in an NICU where the provision is only for 24 beds. Now he faces an FIR under the Atrocity Act and rightly so.

Numbers don’t lie

But these are only visible symptoms and the disease is deeper than we see. A cursory look at Maharashtra’s health budget will tell you that there has been no increase in the budgetary allocation from the last year even as the state continues to spend big on other departments.

Our current provision is only 4.6% of the total expenditure, which is less than average allocation for health by states (6.3%). Not only that, the expenditure is steadily, even if marginally, going down year on year over the last four years. Does that mean Maharashtra is getting healthier? The answer is no. Our budgetary allocation for social welfare and nutrition is down 10 percent from last year. According to National Health Accounts Estimates 92017-18),

 Maharashtra’s per capita health expenditure is Rs 1356, which is a whopping 400 rupees less than the national average of Rs 1753.The data also indicates how people, both in urban and rural areas, are resorting less to public health care and availing more of private health care. The Out of Own Pocket Expenditure has gone up indicating people don’t trust public health care.

While the number of public health facilities is growing, a gaping shortfall in terms of health and awareness centers and primary health centers remains. As the state has abandoned its duties, the people are forced to spend more from their own pockets on healthcare provided by private health care system. Most of the advanced care facilities are concentrated in cities like Mumbai and Pune, while other cities and regions continue to be derived of government attention.

Stop politicking and start governing

Over the last few years, all that the people of Maharashtra has seen is the battle for power. Every three months, there have been rebellions and revolts, all in the name of resolving people’s issues. First it was the Eknath Shinde faction, part of the then ruling dispensation, that claimed that they were not getting enough funds for their constituencies (apart from the cause of Hindutva). And then it was the Ajit Pawar led bunch of MLAs, who made the same excuse as they decided to become part of  the government. Now that Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar have got what they wanted, it is time they focused on governing. The state, and its people are far greater than their petty egos and people’s lives far more precious.