The Union health ministry will soon appoint Professional Management Consultants (PMCs) for monitoring, mentoring and evaluation of projects of the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) sanctioned under centrally sponsored scheme of 'national mission on medicinal plants' and central sector scheme for 'conservation, development and sustainable management of medicinal plants' in the country.
Once in place, the PMCs will carry out monitoring and evaluation of all the projects sanctioned under “Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Mission on Medicinal Plants” during the year 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11and onwards, and “Central Sector Scheme for Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” during the year 2010-11 and those sanctioned subsequently as allocated.
The professional agencies are being engaged for the comprehensive third party monitoring of both the schemes implemented by the NMPB. Though the implementation is basically carried out by the respective state missions in respect of centrally sponsored schemes and by state medicinal plants board, various R&D institutes, universities, state forest departments, NGOs etc. in respect of central sector schemes, the NMPB proposes to have third party independent monitoring and evaluation of projects for better implementation.
It proposes to engage PMCs from amongst the organizations or agencies having necessary expertise, manpower, infrastructure and experience of doing such jobs for government departments.
The NMPB, in the Department of Ayush, is the nodal agency for propagation and protection of medicinal plants. Considering the potential for growth of Ayush sector and the consequent need for upscaling the activities in the medicinal plants sector, the government has approved a centrally sponsored scheme of “National Mission on Medicinal Plants” with a total outlay of Rs.630 crore for implementation during the 11th Plan. The scheme is primarily aimed at supporting market driven medicinal plants cultivation on private land with backward linkages for establishment of nurseries, for supply of quality planting material and forward linkages for post-harvest management, marketing infrastructure, certification and crop-insurance in a mission mode.
The central sector scheme for “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” has been approved with an outlay of Rs.321.30 crore during 11th Plan. The objective of the scheme is to ensure sustained supply of quality medicinal plants through programmes of in-situ conservation, survey and documentation, ex-situ conservation of endangered/threatened species of medicinal plants, R&D, training & awareness and promotional activities like creation of home/school herbal gardens and thereby to promote plant based health security.
The government has invited Expression Of Interest (EOI) and bids for engagement of PMCs for these schemes.