Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said the State Government’s claim of providing free health services to 1.10 crore people in just two months from implementation of the the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) is baseless.
“While the Odisha Economic Survey revealed that less than one crore people had visited Government hospitals during a year in 2017-18, the State Government’s claim of providing free health services to 1.10 crore people in 60 days from the day of BKSY implemtation is quite unbelievable and has brought to four how they befool people,” said Dharmendra in a Facebook video.
Presenting a few facts on the healthcare system in Odisha, Pradhan said that the average number of doctors for every 1 lakh people in the State has reduced from 11 in 2009-10 to nine in 2014-15.
“While ICUs are available in only 12 out of 30 District Headquarters Hospitals (DHHS), 112 health centres in Odisha don’t have electricity,” Pradhan added.
Pradhan also mentioned that Odisha now stands first in one-month-old child death rate, second in 1-year-old child death rate and fifth in death of children under five-year age in the country.
In reaction to Pradhan’s statement, Health Minister Pratap Jena said, “The CM mentioned that over 1 crore cases were benefited under the scheme from Aug 15 till date. The number includes patients visiting hospital either once or multiple times.”
“It is the BJP Jumla Sarkar at the Centre that makes false promises. The Naveen Patnaik doesn’t believe in falsehood,” he remarked.
