Nitin Gadkari says it is difficult to provide professional health care to all at government facilities

In the backdrop of the Gorakhpur tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 60 children, Union Surface Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari made a statement on Sunday which is very much likely to ruffle a lot of feathers with the common people, and possibly, the power corridors.

Union Minister Gadkari, while speaking at a function to inaugurate the first phase of National Cancer Institute at Nagpur, said that it is difficult to provide modern and timely healthcare to everyone at government facilities. He further added that attempts should be made to engage private and social institutions into the running of healthcare centres.

“Due to various factors such as non-availability of expert doctors, skilled manpower, lack of funds and ticklish rules and regulations, it doesn’t become possible to provide professional health care to patients at government health facilities. As such, inviting social institutions and entrepreneurs to run such facilities on government lands provided at nominal cost would help provide professional health care service to poor and middle-class patients,” Gadkari said.

“We are making one such effort on a Mumbai port land of about 17 acres by giving it to a social institution at a nominal rent. The institute is expected to set up a super-speciality hospital on the land to provide health care to poor patients,” added Gadkari.

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Among those who attended the programme included Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chairman of Tata Trust Ratan Tata, Union Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.