Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday met Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prasad Nadda in New Delhi and discussed about setting up of various proposed health institutes and laboratories along with continuing of Central schemes in Odisha.
Patnaik urged upon the Union Minister that the approved Project Implementation Plan for 2015-16 for the National Health Mission (NHM) should continue in the existing sharing pattern of 75:25 between the Centre and the State without any dilution.
The Chief Minister emphasised on the need to have a Super Specialty Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences at Cuttack on the pattern of NIMHANS Bangalore, to cater to the need of the entire eastern region. He informed that the State Government has already identified 18.33 acres of land for the purpose at Ramdaspur in Barang tehsil in Cuttack.
He mentioned that Odisha has submitted revised Detailed Project Reports (DPR) along with estimates for establishing five new Medical Colleges at Koraput, Balangir, Puri, Baleswar and Baripada at a cost of Rs2,450.90 crore and suggested that these may be approved early.
Patnaik requested Nadda for setting up of a Drug Testing laboratory at Sambalpur at the cost of Rs56.35 crore, a Regional Institute of Para Medical Sciences and the Central Cosmetic Testing laboratory to facilitate testing of cosmetics manufactured in the entire eastern region including Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Assam.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the need to upgrade the existing Regional Centre, Cuttack to State Cancer Institute and assist other medical colleges including Burla Medical College at Sambalpur, MKCG Medical College Hospital at Brahmapur and District Hospital, Bhawanipatna to enhance the Tertiary Cancer Care facilities in the State.
He again urged the Minister to consider enhancing the grant to Rs10 crore per annum to continue the Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi.
Nadda assured Patnaik that all the proposals of the State would receive priority attention and that every effort shall be made to provide adequate funds for strengthening the health care infrastructure and services in the State.