Assembly Nod To Health University In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A new health university will be set up in Odisha to regulate and administer all the medical and paramedical institutions.

Odisha University of Health Sciences Bill, 2021, was among the three bills passed in the Assembly amid uproar from the opposition benches. 

In a statement, Health Minister Naba Kishore Das said the objective of the bill is to bring uniformity in various academic programmes in medical and allied subjects with an affiliating university in the name of ‘Odisha University of Health Sciences’.

He said a number of medical and paramedical institutions of the state are currently affiliated to different universities, which have no specialisation in the study of medical and paramedical sciences adaptable in new methods of teaching, learning and research to achieve excellence in health care and to overcome the incidence of new diseases

“Medical college and universities require a healthy progressive and productive academic environment. This will guide various institutions with regards to manpower, infrastructure maintenance of quality education, planning, and to advise them on different issues to support the health services of the state,” he said.

Besides quality education to students, it will ensure that the examination is conducted at the right time.

The state government also passed a bill to amend the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017, for assigning land to identified slum dwellers in a municipal area. “If a slum dweller is in possession of land to the extent of 30 square metres, the land will be settled in his name subject to the availability of the land,” said Housing and Urban Development Minister Pratap Jena while introducing the bill amid chaotic scenes.

The Odisha GST Amendment Bill, 2021, to simplify the provisions and provide certain facilities to the taxpayers and tax authorities, was also passed without any discussion.