By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 18 Sep: Taking cognisance of the problems being faced by ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) District Magistrate Savin Bansal this morning held a meeting with them at Rishiparna Auditorium at the District Collectorate and lent them a patient ear.
After listening to their problems in detail, he resolved most of their complaints on the spot and also directed the officials on the necessary action in this regard.
The DM took a decision on the spot to transfer the amount of mobile recharge due to the ASHAs every month directly to their accounts. The District Collector also directed the officials to deploy one representative of the ASHAs at the payment counter of the District Hospital and Doon Medical College to resolve the payment related problems. This decision has been taken to ensure that the ASHAs do not face any problems or delay in payment due to lack of mutual coordination between the related agencies or departments.
Bansal also sought detailed information regarding payments pending to ASHAs from the Additional Chief Medical Officer (ACMO), who stated that the payment process will be done immediately after the budget arrives. In this respect, the DM spoke to the Mission Director, NHM, over the phone regarding the pending payment of ASHAs and fixed the budget allocation timeline. It was assured that all pending payments due to ASHAs would be transferred to their accounts within a week.
The DM also constituted a committee at Doon Medical College to resolve the complaints and problems faced by ASHAs, which will include the Additional Chief Medical Officer (ACMO), Medical Superintendent and the ASHA facilitator. ASHAs thanked the District Magistrate for resolving most of their problems. The District Magistrate urged them to do their work responsibly and regularly update their registers and take care of the public. He also said that they could meet him directly if they faced any problems.
Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr Nidhi Rawat, officials and employees of the Health Department and Provincial President of ASHA Association Shiva Dubey along with many ASHAs were present at the meeting.
