Asserting that the central government has accorded top priority to development of healthcare in Assam, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Friday said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 756 crore for four new medical colleges in Assam.Nadda said this while launching the construction of a medical college at Dhubri district of Assam on Friday and added that the Centre has drafted a National List of Essentials Medicines under which government will fix rates of essentials drugs for distribution in AMRIT pharmacies in the states.The Union Minister arrived on a two-day visit to Assam on Friday. While he launched the construction works of the medical college, Nadda is also expected to launch construction of another medical college at Nagaon district of Central Assam on Saturday.
The Union Minister said that close to 500 types of medicines, 85 types of tests will be made free of cost at 16 District Hospitals in Assam and subsequently these facilities will be made available in community health centres and primary health centres.The medical college to be built with a budgetary outlay of Rs 189 crore on the sprawling 108 bigha of land will be completed within 3 years. The proposed medical college will be attached with the existing 200 bedded District and Referral Hospital in Dhubri."It's a great day for the people of the region to have this kind of healthcare facilities. I must appreciate that the Chief Minister and the Health Minister have been able to live up to the Centre's expectation. This cancer hospital will now serve the people of the region," Nadda said.Speaking on the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal termed the day as a red letter day for a historic district like Dhubri and hailed the people of the district for peacefully co-existing since decades.