Nadda engages in repartee with TMC's O'Brien over colour branding norms for WB health centres

New Delhi: Union Minister J P Nadda engaged in a repartee with TMC member Derek O' Brien on Tuesday over the colour branding guidelines for health and wellness centres and release of National Health Mission funds to West Bengal, with the minister responding that the answer will be in grey to match the latter's hair colour. He was replying to a supplementary query during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha by Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Saket Gokhale.

Gokhale asked whether it is true that funds of Rs 828 crore have been withheld from West Bengal under NHM for the "frivolous reason" of not adhering to the colour branding specification by the Union government and sought a pointed yes or no reply on when the dues will be released.

"If you obey the guidelines, Yes. If you do not obey the guidelines, No," said Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare.

Hearing Nadda's reply, O' Brien said: "I am not here to get into a counter argument. The only simple point which my colleague (Gokhale) was making, that yes we will always comply. But our point was that complying with a colour scheme while people are not getting their health, that is a bit over the top. Not for a colour. For something else, we will take it in the spirit. Just because it is not your favourite colour, so people are left not to get their health".

Nadda responded to O' Brien by saying, "The first question was in black and white so the answer was in black and white. Now the question has come from my dear friend Derek O' Brien and his hair is grey. So the answer will also be in grey which has got some positivity also".

Notably, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last November wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to intervene to remove the colour branding conditionalities for health and wellness centers and release NHM funds to Bengal.

The withholding of funds by the Centre will deprive the poor of their health benefits, she said in her two-page letter to the prime minister.

"It is most unfortunate that very recently, I am informed that the union ministry of health and family welfare has withheld fund release under the National Health Mission (NHM) to West Bengal due to non-compliance with certain colour branding guidelines for health and wellness centres, despite other conditionalities being fulfilled," she wrote.

Banerjee said that at present there are around 11,000 functional health and wellness centres in the state which serve over three lakh people everyday. The buildings have been constructed since 2011 (when TMC came to power) in accordance with the colour branding in the state.

Government buildings in Bengal are mostly painted blue and white.