CG Assembly approves demand Rs 6206 cr to upgrade health services

57 New Mobile Medical Units will provide Healthcare Services in Remote Regions
Raipur. The Chhattisgarh Assembly unanimously passed demands for grants totaling Rs 6,206.51 crore related to the Public Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, and Twenty Point Programme Implementation departments. Notably, Rs 4,413.16 crore was allocated for Public Health and Family Welfare, Rs 1,788.86 crore for Medical Education, and Rs 4.49 crore for Twenty Point Programme Implementation. Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, responding to discussions on demand for grants, announced plans to introduce drone services and advanced medical technologies like robotic assistance in the state’s healthcare system. Additionally, he shared the plan for the establishment of a trauma centre along the Raipur-Bilaspur National Highway. Health Minister Jaiswal stated in the assembly that in the budget for the next financial year, provisions have been made to establish super-speciality hospitals, like AIIMS, in all divisional headquarters. Along with this, six district hospitals in the remote regions of the state, including Gariyaband, Kawardha, Mungeli, Raigarh, Baikunthpur, and Narayanpur, will be developed as model district hospitals, for which a budget provision of Rs 20 crore has been made. With this amount, necessary equipment, infrastructure, and human resources will be provided in these hospitals as per requirement. He mentioned that the state government is concerned about the treatment of needy patients, including the poor and labourers of the state. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Mr. Vishnu Deo Sai the state government will provide free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the people of the state under the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Ayushman Swasthya Yojana. He further informed that the new buget includes 393 new positions of lab technician to provide pathology facilities at primary health centres in remote areas. Additionally, a provision for 57 new mobile medical units has been made in this budget to provide healthcare services to people in far-flung reigons.
Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare, Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, responding to the discussions on demand for grants, stated that being healthy is a great blessing and good health helps in accomplishing all other tasks. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, the state government is fulfilling the ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He informed the Assembly that in the budget for the year 2024–25, provisions have been made for 165 new positions of Chief Medical and Health Officers in the newly formed districts of Sakti, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, and Sarangarh-Bilaigarh. Additionally, provisions have been made for the construction and opening of 220-bed hospitals in Manendragarh and Kunkuri., along with the construction of their buildings. Upgradation of the community health centre in Khadgawan to a primary health centre, opening of a new community health centre in the residential premises of Bilaspur High Court, and provision for the development of the Kurud Community Health Centre from a 50- to 100-bed hospital have been included in the budget for the upcoming year.

During the Assembly session, the Health Minister announced the allocation of funds in the budget for the fiscal year 2024–25 to establish 18 new primary health centers. These centers will be situated in various locations including Gram Godkhamhi Akhara, Didori (Chhattisgarh) in the Mungeli district, Golawand in the Kondagaon district, under Nagar Nigam Chirmiri in the Koriya Kalarri district, Gram Sewari in the Balrampur district, Gram Podaguda and Chitapur in the Bastar district, Gram Murma in the Baikunthpur district, Gram Panchayat Kardega in Petamara (Ankira), Gram Ganzhiadih, Gram Keradih, and Sirimkela in Jashpur district, as well as at the airports in Raipur, Bilaspur, Surguja, and Jagdalpur. To assist individuals suffering from paralysis and arthritis, as well as those seeking addiction recovery, services of physiotherapists, mental health counselors, and yoga instructors will be made available near their residences at all urban health centers. The Minister also mentioned plans to open mental health clinics in Jagdalpur, Chirmiri, and Raipur.
Jaiswal stated in the assembly that 123 hospitals in the state have received National Quality Assurance Standards certificates. The Government of India has issued directives to all state governments to equip hospitals with facilities meeting the NQAS standards and obtain certification accordingly. In this budget, the department aims to make facilities available in 12 district hospitals and 95 community health centres to obtain NQAS certification. For this purpose, a provision of Rs 12 crore has been made in the budget. He stated that in order to provide better healthcare facilities to the people along with other medical systems, the AYUSH systems are also being continuously developed and expanded in the state. A total budget provision of Rs 442.68 crore has been made for the year 2024–25. In the budget for the year 2024–25, Rs 23.26 crore has been allocated for medicines and Rs 3.92 crore for medical equipment. A budget provision of Rs 2.12 crore has been made for the development and provision of facilities through public participation in 7 Ayurvedic hospitals, 12 Ayush polyclinics, and 692 Ayush pharmacies in the year 2024–25.

Medical Education

The Medical Education Minister informed the assembly that a budget provision of Rs 50 crore has been made for the establishment of the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), a super-specialty hospital, in Ambikapur, that includes Rs 10 crore for the purchase of medical equipment and Rs 40 crore for building construction. The demand to relocate Bilaspur Medical College and its associated hospitals to a new location has been under consideration by the department. Considering this, a new building has to be constructed in Koni for the Chhattisgarh Ayurveda Institute, Bilaspur, at a cost of 700 crores. A budget provision of 10 crores has been allocated for this construction project. Additionally, for the expansion of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital in Raipur from 650 beds to 1200 beds, a provision of Rs 778 crore has been made.