On the personal intervention of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the Government of India (GoI) has finally approved the long pending proposal of state government to allow parity in the fat standards of cow milk in Punjab with other states across the country thus bringing it down from 4% to 3.5% as permitted in rest of India by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).This decision was conveyed to Mr. Badal by the Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Mr. J.P. Nadda during a meeting here in his office at Nirman Bhawan this morning.
Taking part in the deliberations, Mr. Nadda informed the Chief Minister that the issue related to bringing the prescribed fat standards of cow milk in Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh at par with other states of the country has been cleared by the task force group on milk and milk products constituted by the FSSAI. The Union Minister further said the final notification in this regard would be issued by the Ministry of Health, GoI within two months after getting green signal from the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it was mandatory under the prescribed rules & regulations for the Ministry to seek its nod prior issuing a notification.
Expressing gratitude to Mr. Nadda for taking a positive call on this issue, the Chief Minister said that this path breaking decision would go a long way in giving a major boost to the Dairy sector and offer a level playing field to the dairy farmers in the state.On another issue related to setting up of AIIMS at Bathinda, Mr. Nadda informed the Chief Minister that all the requisite formalities have been completed and cleared by the special committee constituted by the Ministry of Health GoI, which has also inspected the site and now the Ministry would finally get this prestigious project cleared in the next meeting of Union Cabinet. He assured Mr. Badal that immediately after getting Cabinet’s nod, the work on this mega health project would be taken up on war footing. The Chief Minister also extended a formal invite to Mr. Nadda to lay the foundation stone of AIIMS at Bathinda as per his convenience and same was accepted by Mr. Nadda graciously.
Seeking special funds for reviving the glorious legacy and heritage of Government Medical College, Amritsar- one of the oldest and prestigious Medical Colleges in the country, Mr. Badal urged the Union Health Ministry to allow one-time special grant to refurbish its heritage grandeur. Mr. Nadda asked the state government to send a comprehensive proposal in this behalf to enable him to take up this issue with the Finance Ministry separately for seeking funds for this Medical College in view of its rich heritage.The Chief Minister also sought funds to the tune of Rs. 120 crore required for the setting up of State Cancer Institute at Amritsar to cope up with the curse of Cancer effectively. He however also requested Mr. Nadda to sanction similar projects for Hoshiarpur and Fazilka in order to provide the best treatment to cancer patients and asked the Ministry to grant approval for these cancer treatment Institutes expeditiously.
Responding to another demand to seek financial assistance for additional trauma Centres at Government Hospitals on national Highways, Mr. Nadda asked the Chief Minister to send a detailed action plan in this regard so that his Ministry could take an appropriate call on the issue and assured that there was considerable scope for the up-gradation of trauma centres with innovative techniques and facilities to provide the best possible treatment to the accidental victims.Demanding increase in the quota of PG seats, the Chief Minister sought Health Ministry’s direct intervention to take up the issue of revising norms for allotment of PG seats with the Medical Council of India (MCI) and thus allowing three PG seats per Professor instead of existing norm of two seats per Professor. He brought into the notice of Mr. Nadda that the State Medical Colleges were grappling with acute shortage of Post Graduate Specialists in Psychiatry, Radiology, Anesthesia, Gynae, Forensic Medicine and orthopedics. Similarly, Mr. Badal also raised the issue to enhance MBBS seats in Government Medical College, Amritsar from 150 to 200. He informed Mr. Nadda that the state government had re-submitted a fresh proposal in this regard. Mr. Badal also requested the Union Health Ministry to immediately release Rs. 84 crore for the 50 increased seats in each GMC, Patiala and Amritsar. Mr. Nadda assured the Chief Minister that he would soon take up this matter with MCI so as to secure a viable solution to address the issue of scarcity of Medical Specialists and enhancing the MBBS seats in GMC, Amritsar. The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Special Principal Secretary Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, Principal Secretary Health & Family Welfare Mrs. Vinni Mahajan, Secretary Health, Medical Education & Research Mr. Hussan Lal and Principal Resident Commissioner Punjab Bhawan New Delhi Mrs. Kalpna Mittal Barua.