Govt to invest Rs 75 Cr

 This was announced by the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma after chairing a meeting with the health department and planning department on Wednesday.

Sangma told reporters that even before the COVID-19 situation, the government has committed to invest more on the health infrastructure especially in the rural areas.

He said there are some PHCs which have not been renovated for the past 25 years and not a single rupee was invested in the infrastructure adding that this is a very serious situation.

“In view of this, we have decided to invest roughly about Rs 75 crore in PHCs and CHCs to improve the overall infrastructure and renovation including power supply, water supply, including the last mile connectivity, quarters for the staffs and doctors…all these aspects will be looked into,” Sangma said.

The chief minister said that the health department has been asked to come out with the detailed estimate of each of the locations so that implementation of the programme can start at the earliest.

“I am hopeful that within the next 30 days we should be able to start the entire process of renovation of the PHCs and CHCs in the first phase and I am confident that we will be able to complete this work within this financial year,” he added.

Sangma further informed that the second phase is also not very far where the government will focus on improving the health sub-centres and the existing civil hospitals including the intensive care units (ICUs) besides the manpower requirements in the different locations.

Emphasizing on the need to implement a strong MIS system, the chief minister said, “This will ensure that the doctors are not burdened with the reporting system and ensure they can focus on health care rather than reporting which takes a lot of their time.”

By Our Reporter