Maharashtra: Health tests, treatment at govt hospitals in state to be free of cost

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The Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to make medical tests and treatment at public hospitals free of cost, reported news agency PTI.

The decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting which gave its nod to the Right To Health.

Free of cost facilities will be available at 2,418 hospitals and medical centres run by the state government under the scheme that is likely to be launched from August 15. More than 25.5 million people avail treatment in these facilities, officials told PTI.

However, the decision will not be applicable to hospitals and medical colleges that come under the Medical Education department.

"Primary health centres, rural hospitals, women hospitals, district general hospitals and super speciality hospitals will treat patients free of cost in the state," an official told PTI.

Cancer hospitals in Nashik and Amravati will also offer the treatment free of cost, the official added.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday told the legislative assembly that the state government will send to the Centre an environmental cost-benefit analysis report on redeveloping 25,000 slums along Mumbai's coastline in the next two months.

He made the announcement while replying to a calling attention notice by BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.

"An environmental cost-benefit analysis report is being prepared through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) regarding the redevelopment of these slums that fall under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-2," Shinde said.

"This analysis report is crucial for the redevelopment of these slums. It will be ready and sent to the central government in the next two months," he added.

Shelar said the chief minister's assurance meant the fate of nearly 25,000 slums housing nearly 1.25 lakh people in Mumbai will be decided in the next two months.

According to the CRZ notification dated January 6, 2011 issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, conditions were placed on the redevelopment of these slums.

As per this notification, if these slums are to be redeveloped, 51 per cent cost share will be with the state government.

The Union environment department later changed this notification on January 18, 2019, but since there was still no clarity on the redevelopment of protected huts in this notification, the state government sent a letter to the Centre.

The central government directed it to submit a proposal in this regard.

In the meanwhile, the new development plan for Mumbai was prepared, in which reservations for parks and playgrounds were made in the coastal areas, thereby turning them into no-development zones. As a result, the path of redevelopment of these slums became all the more difficult.

Around the same time, the Union ministry of environment and climate change held a meeting on this issue in New Delhi, in which the Centre directed the state government to submit a report on the impact on environment if redevelopment of these slums was permitted.

Speaking to reporters outside the assembly complex, Shelar said the state government directed the two concerned authorities - the BMC and the SRA - to prepare an environmental cost-benefit analysis report.

Through his calling attention notice in the House, Shelar brought to the notice of the assembly how enormous the redevelopment task will be.

Talking about it, he said, "On the one hand we are trying to make Mumbai slum-free, while on the other there are still pockets in Mumbai like Worli, Bandra, Khar, Juhu, Versova and Dharavi, where nearly 1.25 lakh people residing in 25,000-odd slums are waiting for years for a favourable decision from the government."

"By when will the BMC and the SRA submit this environment cost-benefit analysis report to the Centre," Shelar asked in the House.

Responding to it, Shinde assured that the report will be prepared and submitted to the central government within the next two months.

(With inputs from PTI)