Mumbai, February 28: Finance Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday proposed a health budget of nearly Rs10,000 crore in the interim budget 2024-25, focusing on improving healthcare facilities in Maharashtra. The budget has been divided between three departments: Women and Child (Rs3,107 crore), followed by Public Health (Rs3,827 crore) and Medical Education and Drugs Department (Rs2,574 crore).
“A new scheme, ‘Lek Ladki’, for empowerment of girl children was launched in April last year that will provide beneficiaries Rs1.01 lakh grant in a phased manner till they complete the age of 18 years. Moreover, we also plan to start start Urban Child Development Centres to overcome the problem of malnutrition in urban areas, which will help bring the severely malnourished children into the general category,” Pawar said in his budget speech.
Pink Rickshaws To 5,000 Women:
Meanwhile, the ‘Chief Minister Women Empowerment Mission’ is being implemented under which at least one lakh women in each district will get benefit directly from various government schemes. Moreover, a scheme is proposed to provide pink rickshaws to 5,000 women in 10 major cities.
“We will be filling 14,000 vacant posts of Anganwadi workers and helpers in the state. However, new government and nursing medical colleges of 100-student intake and colleges affiliated 430-bedded hospital at Washim, Jalna, Hingoli, Amravati, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Buldhana, Palghar, Nashik and Ambernath in Thane district has also been proposed,” he said.
Senior health experts welcomed the budget stating that the government is focusing on the main health sectors. Moreover, the state plans to set up All India Institute of Medical Sciences-AIIMS at Aundh, Pune, on the lines of Nagpur.
