Health Min assures 'undiluted' funds to Odisha

Allaying concerns, the Health Ministry today assured Odisha that there would be "undiluted" flow of funds to it under the National Health Mission (NHM) under which states are provided support to strengthen its health care.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who called on Health Minister J P Nadda urged the latter that the approved Project Implementation Plan for 2015-16 for NHM should continue in the existing sharing pattern of 75:25 (Central:State) without any "dilution".
Nadda said that there would be no cuts under NHM to the state and the NHM budget will continue undiluted to the state. Under NHM, an amount of Rs 666.36 crore was released to Odisha as centre share in 2014-15, Union Health Ministry officials said.

Patnaik also emphasised the need to have a Super Specialty Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences at Cuttack on the pattern of NIMHANS Bangalore, to cater to the need of the entire eastern region.
He informed that his government has already identified 18.33 acres of land for the purpose at Ramdaspur in Barang Tehsil in Cuttack and said Odisha has submitted revised Detailed Project Reports along with estimates for establishing five new Medical Colleges at Koraput, Bolangir, Puri, Balasore and Baripada at a cost of Rs 2,450.90 crore.
Union Health Ministry officials said Nadda assured that the mental health institute will upgraded soon while while sanction has been given for the establishment of new medical colleges in five districts, officials said.

Patnaik said that his government has decided to allot an acre of land in Khurda district for setting up of Central Cosmetic Testing Laboratory which may be sanctioned early by the Ministry as that would facilitate testing of cosmetics manufactured in the entire eastern region including Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Assam.