Mohali, June 27: Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented his maiden Budget of Rs 1,55,859.78-crore on Monday and said that the state’s outstanding debt would climb to Rs 305361.44 crore in the 2022-23 financial year.
Presenting the first budget of the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government on Monday, Finance Minister Cheema allocated Rs 4,731 crore for the health sector, an increase of 23.80% over that of FY 2021-22.
In addition, throughout the course of the year, the government will establish the "Punjab Sikhya Te Sehat Fund," a trust to aid capital asset creation in the health and education sectors, and will offer token assistance as seed money to it.
To decentralise public health services to the lowest level, the AAP government proposed installing mohalla/pind (village) clinics. The government intends to build 117 mohalla clinics this year, with an initial budget of 77 crore. Seventy-five of these mohalla clinics will be operational by August 15.
Meanwhile, Rs 1,033 crore has been allocated for medical education, representing a 56.60 percent increase over FY 2021-22.
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Sixteen new medical colleges would be established in the state, bringing the total number of such institutions in Punjab to 25 during the next five years. In the next two years, the government plans to build two super-speciality hospitals in Patiala and Faridkot. Three additional super speciality hospitals are expected to open by 2027.
In Mohali, the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences will be established.
The AAP government further intends to establish an estate management unit (EMU) that will be solely responsible for the maintenance of basic substructure needs of hospitals/health facilities and the prompt elimination of flaws. The unit would be operated initially by the state government before being handed over to a specialised agency.
To help road accident victims, the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government proposed a scheme modelled after the Farishtey scheme in New Delhi, in which anybody can take a road accident victim(s) and get them admitted to any hospital. The government will pay for the treatment of accident victims.
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-PTC News