Stepping up its family planning services for population stabilisation, the Centre proposes to substantially enhance the compensation for sterilisation in 20 high focus States. It will now be on a par with what is offered under the Janani Suraksha Yojana, in which women are given a monetary incentive for delivery in a health facility to help reduce maternal and infant mortality.
The new scheme provides for enhancing the compensation package for tubectomy from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 (for women up to three children only) and from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,500 for vasectomy (for men up to three children only) for services provided at public facilities. The package for both tubectomy and vasectomy will be hiked from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,500 done in accredited private and non-governmental organisation centres.
The differential of Rs. 500 for vasectomy has been kept to encourage men to take up the responsibility of family planning, so far shouldered only by women.
The approval for the new compensation scheme, which will mean an additional burden of Rs. 133 crore in the first year, will be sought at the seventh meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) next week. The funds for this would be met from the Reproductive and Child Health Programme component of the NRHM, available with the States.
The Centre will spend Rs. 2,500 for every sterilisation procedure done in a public sector facility in the 20 high focus States. For every tubectomy, the acceptor will get Rs. 1,400 up from Rs. 600 now, the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist or motivator) will get Rs. 200 as against Rs. 150 now, and the rest will go towards medical expenses. For vasectomy, the acceptor will get Rs. 1,900 (now Rs. 1,100), the motivator will get Rs. 250 (Rs. 200) and the remaining will be spent on medical expenses.
For sterilisations done in accredited private and NGO centres, the facility will get Rs. 1,800 (Rs. 1,350) and the acceptor will get Rs. 500 (there is no such payment provision now), while the motivator will get Rs. 200 (Rs. 150). For vasectomy, the facility will get Rs. 1,800 (Rs. 1,300) and the motivator will get Rs. 200 (the same amount as now), while the acceptor has also been brought under the economic package and will get Rs. 500.
The proposed increase is necessitated by the rising cost of living and the consequent increase in opportunity costs.
The States to be covered are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and the eight northeastern States.
