The Tamil Nadu government has decided to upgrade 19 government hospitals into new district headquarter hospitals in order to provide quality medical facilities at the district level and to ensure integrated implementation of important schemes. This will cover the six newly created districts and these hospitals will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 1,019 crore, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) announced in the Budget on Friday, March 18.
To provide quality mental health services, the government has planned to establish Tamil Nadu Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (TNIMHANS), by upgrading the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Kilpauk. A provision of Rs 40 crore has been made for the first phase of this project.
The Government Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, which was established in 1969 in Kanchipuram district, has been operating as a 290-bed facility. The hospital is currently being expanded to 500 beds at a cost of Rs 120 crore. This hospital will further be upgraded to a 750-bed autonomous institution of excellence, it was announced in the Budget. This will be implemented at a cost of Rs 100 crore with financial assistance from the World Bank and the National Health Mission.
An amount of Rs 1,906 crore has been allocated for the National Rural Health Mission, Rs 304 crore has been provided for ambulance services, Rs 817 crore for Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme, and an amount of Rs 1,547 crore has been provided for Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in the Budget. A sum of Rs 17,901.73 crore has been allocated to the Health and Family Welfare Department, it was announced in the Budget.
The government said it will take steps to coordinate the activities of departments including the Health and Family Welfare Department, Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, School Education Department and the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons Department to facilitate the exchange of information and provide all services to children born with special needs through treatment centres at various levels.
“In the coming year, to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Vallalar, who epitomised compassion for all living beings, a new scheme ‘Vallalar Palluyir Kappagangal’ will be launched to support NGOs which take care of abandoned and injured pet animals and strays,” the Finance Minister stated. For this scheme, Rs 20 crore will be provided in the Budget. Further, the government has made an allocation of Rs 1,314.84 crore to the Animal Husbandry Department in this Budget.
PTR also stated that as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine, students from the state had to return after disruption of their medical education. The state government said it will extend all assistance for continuation of their medical education based on the guidelines issued by the Union government, which is in the process of devising a plan of action to enable the students to continue their studies either in India or abroad.