Chandigarh, February 12 The Haryana Health Department has operationalised 5,086 village health sanitation committees (VHSC) to bridge the gap between demand and supply of quality and timely health care services and strengthen decentralised health planning. Haryana Commissioner and Secretary, Health, Navraj Sandhu said these committees have been operationalised by giving a grant of Rs 10,000 each. The bank account of each such committee is being operated jointly by the sarpanch and accredited social health activist (ASHA) or anganwari worker (AWW), she added. Sandhu said with a view to further strengthen health services at the village level, active inclusion of vulnerable groups in the planning process would lead to a solution-finding approach and improvement in status of health of the community. While referring to the role and responsibilities of members of such committees, she said VHSC would maintain a record of births and deaths in the village and regularly update the status of resources in the village, such as hand-pumps, latrines, public health facilities, number of private doctors or clinics, schools and places of worship. These committees would also maintain a record of beneficiaries as well as the kind of health and integrated child development services required. Sandhu said these committees would also gather all mothers and eligible children for vaccination and health check-ups at one place in the village during the visit of the auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM). The committees would also monitor the visits of the ANM and ensure that her services are extended to the target population.