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Officials say that if we do not cancel incomplete and unnecessary tasks, we will not have the ability to start any new health infrastructure.
Mumbai: In the last few years, financial pressure on Maharashtra Public Health Department has increased considerably due to excessive expenditure on the construction of its various establishments, which has spoiled its economic condition. Departmental officials have warned that new projects may stop due to this situation. Officials said that the department is struggling to provide quality health care services due to approval of several construction projects without assessing the actual financial situation, increasing liabilities and limited employees of infrastructure.
9 thousand crore rupees arrears of building contractors
He said that the department still has to pay the dues of 9 thousand crore rupees from the building contractors. A senior state health official said that permission for a large number of projects, including primary health centers and testing laboratories, was given without proper investigation. If we do not cancel incomplete and unnecessary tasks, we will not have the ability to start or complete any new health infrastructure. Every year the department gets Rs 500 crore as part of its main budget. However, an important part of this allocation is spent in the ongoing expenses, including the purchase of ambulances and construction of new health institutions. The official said that these costs have crossed the managerial levels.
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Healthcare also affected due to lack of money
According to the data of the department, the dues of 9 thousand crore rupees are yet to be paid for health infrastructure. He warned that the pending amount is at risk for healthcare. The department has also come under investigation for previous decisions related to procurement. Which includes ambulances, bodies vehicle procurement and hiring cleaning services for government hospitals.
About 42 percent posts vacant in health department
More expenditure on buildings has put a lot of pressure on our department when we already have fewer employees. According to the National Health Policy, Maharashtra is expected to allocate at least eight percent of its annual budget for public health. However, the actual expenses have been around five percent in the last few years. In December last year, the state reported in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to fail to recruit adequate health workers. About 42 percent of the approved posts including doctors, nurses and assistant employees in government hospitals are vacant.
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