27 August,2020 07:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
The SRA will be established in 8 municipal bodies in the MMR and in 7 other civic entities in the state for more buildings such as this one in Dahisar. Pic/Ashish Rane
After Maharashtra's urban areas of, barring one-off cash-rich municipal bodies like Mumbai, proved to be deficient in providing healthcare and struggled without unified command in the pandemic, the state government has decided to create a separate executive and administrative set-up to boost the public health service in cities and towns. The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved seven new positions to be occupied by experts to streamline the ailing medical care space, dominated by the private sector.
There will be two deputy directors and four assistant directors. Sources said a parallel set-up will work for the rural regions. The Chief Minister's Office said the new set-up will be effective in the management of pandemics and taking preventive measures against infectious diseases.
With 50 per cent of its people staying in cities and towns, Maharashtra needed to have urban healthcare boosted in the past six months in which the local self-governments (municipal bodies) were faced with inadequate expertise and funds. The Medical Education Department handles 18 medical colleges and hospitals attached to them, where affordable treatment is available from specialists and in some places from super specialists. In fact, most of the burden gets shifted to public hospitals/medical colleges (including private ones) in the cities and towns, where private/corporate hospitals treat the people who can afford their higher costs.
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In a respite for the lockdown-hit transport sector, the Cabinet has waived off tax on the commercial (public and goods) transport between April 1 and September 30, 2020. Transport minister Anil Parab said the move would help bear the losses incurred by the commercial vehicles and goods carriers due to the pandemic. The state will bear a loss of R700 cr, said Parab.
The home buyers and others who transact/register transfer of property by paying stamp duty to the revenue department will get a discount. The stamp duty between September 1 and December 31, 2020, will be reduced by 3 per cent, and it will be 2 per cent less for the period between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021.
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