New Delhi, Aug 02 (UNI) As the Lok Sabha on Friday took up discussion on demands for grants related to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for 2024-25, opposition slammed the government over the healthcare facilities in rural parts of the country and alleged irregularities in the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Initiating the discussion in the House on the Demand for Grants of the Health Ministry, Congress member Tariq Anwar said the National Health Policy-2017 had set a target to increase spending on healthcare to up to 2.5% of the GDP.

He said the government spending on healthcare, however, is on a decline and the number of AIIMS opened in different states was lacking in infrastructure and personnel, forcing patients to come to AIIMS-Delhi.

He alleged that sufficient budgetary allocation was not made in this year’s budget to improve basic health facilities in the rural areas.

Responding to the debate , Union Health Minister JP Nadda said, "Over 29,000 hospitals, including 12,625 private ones, have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana as of June 30."

"All empanelled hospitals have signed MoUs with their respective State Health Agencies (SHAs)," he added.

Union Health Minister Nadda said our vision of All India Institute of Medical Sciences is that people from every corner of the country do not have to come to Delhi for their treatment.

"The way AIIMS is served in Delhi, AIIMS should serve them with the same brand name. PM Modi has tried to open over 17 AIIMS in every region of the country with the world's best tertiary healthcare system" he added.

Participating in the debate , Dr Sanjay Jaiswal of BJP said, the government is paying special attention towards the education and health sector.

He said, in 2014, there were only 387 medical colleges in the country which now increased to 706 and there were only around 51 thousand medical seats in 2014 which have now increased to more than one lakh.

Lalji Verma of Samajwadi Party said, health budget was decreased as compared to financial year 2023-24. He said, the number of medical colleges in the country increased but they lack basic facilities.

Dr Sharmila Sarkar of TMC also raised the issue of insufficient funding towards the health sector. She stressed on the need for dedicated funding for mental health service. The discussion is underway.

The Congress leader also alleged that the inadequacies of the healthcare sector were exposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the government tried to under-report deaths across the country.

UNI JA KK