In an apparent bid to further underline the SP Government’s priorities, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his administration was committed to ensuring better health for the poorer sections of society.
Also, the CM underscored the fact that unlike the previous BSP Government which squandered the health funds, the current dispensation would ensure that the funds meant to cater to the health of the poor would indeed be used for the purpose.
Incidentally, the remarks by Akhilesh during the launch of a special ambulance service started by the Health Department came on the eve of the CBI’s plan to submit its probe report on the NRHM scam in the High Court on Thursday.
And 200 new ambulances were launched by the CM at a function held at his official residence here. “Until now, patients had to pay `35 for ambulance , but from today there would be no charge for the ambulance service,” the CM said.
The Health Department has set aside nearly `100 crore for the ambulance service.
Curiously, several spanking new ambulances purchased during the previous government’s time, have been gathering dust on the outskirts of the capital as the investigations are underway into their controversial purchase.
The Chief Minister said that the new ambulance service was being launched with the help of the NRHM funds which had been looted earlier.
He added that some innocent people were caught up in the NRHM scam, but there were some very powerful people involved in the serial killings of the CMOs(chief medical officers) and in the blatant loot of the government.
Speaking on the occasion Health Minister Ahmad Hasan, who recently said that he encountered a threat to his life said that the BSP had looted the funds meant for the poor. Some of them are in jail, and more are headed for it, he said.