Question : Mental Healthcare Act- 2017

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) the status of the implementation of Mental Healthcare Act, 2017;

(b) whether as per Section 33 of the Act, the Central Mental Health Authority was to be established within 9 months from the date of approval of the Act, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the States/UTs in which State Mental Health Authorities have been formed in compliance to Section 45 of the Act; and

(d) whether the required number of meetings are being held by the Central as well as State Mental Health Authorities as per Sections 44 and 56 of the Act, respectively, if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) & (b): As per Sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, the Government, vide Notification in the Official Gazette of India appointed 29th May, 2018 as the date on which the Act shall come into force. The Act along with the following Rules framed thereunder came into force w.e.f. 29th May, 2018:
i. Central Mental Health Authority and Mental Health Review Boards Rules, 2018.
ii. State Mental Health Authority Rules, 2018.
iii. Rights of Persons with Mental Illness Rules, 2018.

The Government vide Notification in the Official Gazette of India dated 4th December, 2018 has also constituted the Central Mental Health Authority under Section 33 of the Act.

(c): As per available information, State Mental Health Authorities have been constituted in 19 States, namely, Manipur, Jharkhand, Tamilnadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.

(d): Three meetings of the Central Mental Health Authority have been held till date. Information regarding meetings of State Mental Health Authorities is not maintained centrally.