{NHM Funds} Mann lashes out at Centre for withholding ₹1,000 cr

Chandigarh

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday alleged that the Union government has been obstructing the government ₹1,000 crore from the state under the National Health Mission (NHM).

After flagging off 58 hi-tech ambulances for the state, Mann said the state government is committed to providing quality healthcare services to the state but the Union government is constantly hatching conspiracies to deny them to Punjabis. “The delay in grants of a total of ₹1,000 crore under the National Health Mission is a condemnable move. The non-BJP governments are being harassed by the Union government on one pretext or the other,” he alleged.

The CM said that this step-motherly treatment of Punjab is unwarranted and reflects the short-sighted mentality of the Centre towards the state. He said that this high-handedness of the central government will not be tolerated and Punjabis will give a befitting response to this.

Responding to a question on his boycott of the Niti Aayog meeting, Mann said these meetings are a futile exercise as states are not even given time to highlight the issues that concern them. “For this reason alone, we have decided to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting this time. Last time too, nothing fruitful came out of the Niti Aayog meeting,” he added.

Flags from 58 new ambulances

Mann said 58 new ambulances have been equipped with the latest medical equipment, bringing the total number of ambulances in the state to 325.

“These state-of-the-art ambulances are required to reach the needy patients within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural areas,” he said. The CM said his government was investing a lot of resources and funds to improve the health sector in the state to ensure people get access to quality healthcare services. “Medical colleges are coming up in Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Kapurthala,” he said. Mann was accompanied by Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh.