By News Agency of Kashmir
Jammu : Attaching top priority to infrastructure development in health sector across the State, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that all health institutions from district to village level in Jammu & Kashmir would have modern buildings and diagnostic and treatment facilities in the coming five years.
The State government has formulated a comprehensive infrastructure development plan for health sector under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and submitted it to the union government for funding, the Chief Minister said, adding that the Centre has approved the plan in principle as well as funds to the tune of about Rs. 100 crore for the current year.
The Chief Minister was addressing a high level meeting convened here this morning to discuss preparation of detailed project reports for infrastructure development plan for the State under NRHM and involving major construction agencies to undertake the works.
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Mangat Ram Sharma, Minister for R&B, Gulchain Singh Charak, Minister of State for Health, Peer Muhammad Hussain, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Anil Goswami, Principal Secretary, General Administration and Chairman, Special Task Force for Health Sector, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NBCC, Arup Roy Choudhury, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Police Housing Corporation, Rajan Bakshi, Secretary, Health and Medical Education, K. B. Jandial, Managing Director, JKPCC, Dilip Thussu and other senior officers attended the meeting.
Under the scheme, infrastructure would be raised for all the 22 district hospitals, 61 sub-district hospitals, 59 community health centres, 374 primary health centres and 1907 sub-centres to meet expanding healthcare needs of the people.
The construction works would be executed by J&K Projects Construction Corporation, National Buildings Construction Corporation, J&K Police Housing Corporation and R&B department.
The Chief Minister asked the executing agencies to formulate detailed project reports immediately for submission to the Centre for release of funds. He said that project reports for district and other health institutions should be prepared in such a way that the works presently under execution are integrated with the over all project as per NRHM norms.
The Chief Minister issued instructions to prepare the project reports in keeping with the requirements for the future. He said since by 2010 all villages would get road connectivity with block headquarters under Bharat Nirman Programme, the easy accessibility would increase manifold the rush of patients in block and tehsil level hospitals. This, he said, required enhanced bed strength and other facilities. As per norms fixed under the NRHM, the proposed bed strength for a district hospital is 200, for sub-district hospital 100, for community health centre 30 and for primary health centre 6.
The Chief Minister said that four regional drug warehouses should be constructed on priority at Leh, Kargil, Srinagar and Jammu. Similarly, out of the 18 district drug warehouses to be put in place in the State under NRHM, first priority should be given to far-off districts with difficult terrain and topography.
With a view to strengthen paramedical and nursing institutions, all the ANM and nursing schools would be repaired and renovated.