Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) There is need for early enactment of a national health bill to address inequities in health coverage, said N.R. Madhava Menon, who holds the first Dr S. Radhakrishnan chair on parliamentary studies instituted by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari.

Delivering a lecture here Friday on “Role of legislation in promotion of public health,” Menon said there was need of a comprehensive legislation on public health.

“There is a great complimentarity of constitutional institutions. Parliament can shape its legislative agenda on public health by drawing from several landmark judicial decisions on varied aspects of public health,” he said.

Menon said a draft national health bill 2009 had been prepared by the government but not much had been heard about it.

He said that the bill should be enacted soon and have an architecture like that of Right to Education Act which involves a rights-based approach, mechanisms for transparency and accountability and participation of all stakeholders.

Referring to the Bhopal gas disaster, he said that the criminal justice system in the country had proved inadequate and the victims were still struggling to live with dignity.

Menon said the market driven economy was overtaking the health sector and suggested greater public investment in health.

Referring to National Rural Health Mission, he said that some estimates said that it had not been able to achieve 25 percent of its objectives so far. “Had it (NRHM) come through a legislation, it would have achieved at least 50 percent of its aims,” he said.

Menon said the country’s “demographic advantage” would be of little use if sizeable proportion of children suffered from nutritional deficiency.

In his speech Hamid Ansari said that the “Chair” named after Dr S. Radhakrishnan, the first chairman of Rajya Sabha, had been instituted as there is deficit of qualitative research on institutions of democracy, particularly parliament. Two fellowships on parliamentary studies have also been instituted.

The duration of chair is for two years and fellowships for one year.

Menon, who holds the Dr S. Radhakrishnan chair at present, is founder director of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The lecture, which is a part of series of lectures to be delivered by him, was held on the birth anniversary of Dr Radhakrishnan.

Menon is working on the research project “Parliamentary Performance in ushering in socio-economic transformation - 1950- 2000: A report card.”