Kargil, Feb 13 (KNO): The Centre on Thursday said that no proposal has been received from the Union Territory Administration of Ladakh regarding the upgradation of District Hospital Kargil from 75 beds to a 200-bed facility.
Replying to an unstarred question raised by MP Mohmmad Haneefa in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), informed the House that the Ministry has not received any such proposal in the Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under the National Health Mission for consideration by the National Programme Coordination Committee.
The reply stated that no proposal is currently under consideration for upgrading District Hospital Kargil into a 200-bed or multi-specialty hospital.
The Minister said that health is a State subject and the primary responsibility for strengthening healthcare infrastructure lies with the respective State or Union Territory Governments. However, under NHM, need-based technical and financial assistance is extended to States and UTs, including Ladakh, based on proposals submitted in their Programme Implementation Plans and approved by the National Programme Implementation Committee.
The Government further informed that support has been provided for transforming Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres into Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare services.
Additionally, the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) 2022 guidelines provide relaxed population norms for establishing healthcare facilities in remote, tribal and hard-to-reach areas such as Kargil.
The Minister also said that 15th Finance Commission Health Grants are being utilised for construction and strengthening of building-less Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres in underserved regions, including high-altitude districts like Kargil—(KNO)