India, Sept. 23 -- In spite of availability of funds for improvement of health facilities and infrastructure in Khariar block, the Health Department is sitting undone due to non-availability of encroachment-free land.

The Mother and Child Health Care (MCH) unit constructed with an expenditure of Rs 4 crore is of no use as the ownership of the land where it has been constructed is now claimed by a private person. An amount of Rs 75 lakh sanctioned a few days ago by the Government for furnishing of that building is also lying unutilised due to the conflict.

The National Health Mission Directorate has sanctioned an amount of Rs 1.68 crore for construction of the CHC building, Rs 50 lakh for drug warehouse and Rs 10 lakh for establishment of a Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) at Khariar.

All these sanctioned funds cannot be spent due to the same reason. For the benefit of the public, these infrastructures have to be developed in the vicinity of the medical college hospital (MCH), which has been constructed in an area of 4 acres. "The Programme Implementation Plan of the district for the year 2017-18 has a number of such provisions for Khariar but the only problem is land," said an official of Khariar CHC.

Khariar town is expanding rapidly in last few years increasing the need of health facilities and infrastructure, but due to absence of proper planning, things are growing haphazardly.

The Government lands have been encroached upon in many places by private persons, which is a major impediment. A major portion of the land of the office of the District Agriculture Officer in Khariar has been under the possession of some land grabbers, but neither the Agriculture Department nor the Revenue office is doing anything to vacate the encroachment. Likewise, the playground of Raja AT High School known as 'B' ground, agriculture farm, NAC market yard and valuable plots of Revenue Department are under unauthorized encroachment.

It is interesting that, local area development funds of MLAs and MPs as well as the WODC fund have been spent for construction of buildings by many private institutions in the Government lands in the name of community hall, but the administration has remained a silent spectator.