Urban health centres to be set up in cities, semi-urban areas: Minister

To ramp up health infrastructure in urban and rural areas, the Maharashtra government announced that urban health centres will be set up in cities and semi-urban areas

Mumbai To ramp up health infrastructure in urban and rural areas, the Maharashtra government announced that urban health centres will be set up in cities and semi-urban areas.

While replying to the debate on the budgetary demands of the department, Tope also said that the cleanliness in the public hospitals will be maintained to compete with the private ones (HT PHOTO)

Addressing the legislative assembly on Tuesday, health minister Rajesh Tope said that one such centre will be set up per 15,000 citizens in the municipal corporation areas in cities. He added that an adequate number of centres in nagar panchayat areas (small towns) are planned as well.

While replying to the debate on the budgetary demands of the department, Tope also said that the cleanliness in the public hospitals will be maintained to compete with the private ones. “People prefer private hospitals majorly because of the lack of cleanliness in the public ones. We have decided to bring major change on this front by introducing a mechanised cleanliness system in our hospitals. The thrust is on the cleaning and sanitation at least twice a day,” he said.

Tope added that accessibility, affordability of the health care services across the state is the new mission of the department. “To ramp up the health infrastructure at tehsil and district level, MRI and CT scan facilities will be made available at district level, while dialysis and teleradiology, ECG, surgery-less kidney stone treatment facilities will be available at tehsil level. Keeping the rising number of cancer patients in mind, we have also decided to operationalise mobile cancer diagnostic vans at district level,” the minister said and added that urban health centres at urban and semi urban areas is the answer to the need of augmentation of the health infrastructure in the wake of the urbanisation percentage reaching to 47%.

Tope also said that the state government has earmarked ₹250 crore for the mandatory health check up of the state government employees. He said that all the government employees in the age group of 40-50 will have to undergo the health checkup once a year while the employees in the age group 50-58 will have to undergo check up twice a year.

During the debate on the budgetary demands of various departments in the legislative Assembly, BJP leader and former minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had alleged that the stamp duty waiver given during Covid last year resulted in the loss of ₹20,000 crore to the exchequer. He also alleged that a few developers in connivance with the revenue officials reaped undue advantage by showing the ready reckoner value less than the applicable to the respective areas. Vikhe Patil also alleged that the ready reckoner rates of certain areas were reduced to facilitate certain developers and demanded a white paper on the transactions.

The state government, in the backdrop of the economic slowdown during the peak of the pandemic, had reduced the stamp duty on the registration of homes to 2% and 3% during August 2020 and March 31, 2021.

Rubbishing the allegations, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat in his reply said, “The ready reckoner rates were reduced in certain areas on the recommendation of a committee of senior officials appointed in 2017. The reduction was based on the actual transactions of the homes in the previous year. It is not right to say that the reduction was with the malafide intention or we sustained any losses. In fact, the reduction in the stamp duty resulted in the record registration of the housing unit despite the slump of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Our efforts for the revival of the real estate sector was appreciated at the national level,” he said.