Odisha Govt Approves Over Rs 1062 Crore For Infra Development In Health Facilities

Bhubaneswar: In another step towards improving health services, the Odisha government has approved an annual action plan of Rs 1062.10 crore for infrastructure development in its facilities.

While giving his approval to the proposed action plan on Thursday, Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Finance Nirajan Pujari asked the department and chief district medical officers to prioritise patient-centric basic infrastructure in the hospitals.

Secretary of the department Shalini Pandit said the approved amount would be invested in construction of 863 projects under Mukhya Mantri Swasthya Seva Mission of the state government.

She said Director of National Health Mission along with directors of Health Services, Medical Education and Training, AYUSH, Drugs Controller, State Institute of Helath & Family Welfare and Nursing have been asked to expedite the process for obtaining administrative approval for the projects from competent authorities. They would also keep an eye on already approved projects from other sources at ground level for avoiding duplication of resources and efforts.

The major projects in approved annual plan included construction of 9 additional facilities in different district headquarters hospitals; 6 new sub-divisional hospital buildings; 60 community health centre (CHC) buildings; 47 primary health centres (PHCs) with staff quarters; 40 health sub-centers at grassroots level; upgradation of 5 PHCs and CHCs; development of residential and non-residential AYUSH centres and development of basic amenities in 696 PHCs and sub-centers.

Additional facilities would be developed in district headquarter hospitals at Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Malkangiri, Baripada, Nayagarh and Sundargarh. New sub-divisional hospital buildings would be constructed at Pattamundai of Kendrapada district, Umarkot of Nabrangpur, Mathli of Malkangiri, Chitrakonda of Malkangiri, Khariar of Nuapada and Aska of Ganjam district.