Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state government is working to provide state-of-the-art diagnostic services at all medical colleges in the state.
Such advanced machines are currently available only at AIIMS in Delhi. “Modern equipment worth around ₹ 500 crore is being installed at these medical colleges. He said that full arrears, leave encashment and gratuity had been paid to pensioners aged above 67 years. He further announced that Class-IV employees who retired between January 1, 2016, and January 31, 2022, would be provided an additional amount of ₹ 20,000 over and above their salary arrears.
The CM said that the Congress government is committed to the welfare of employees and pensioners, while the BJP is “merely indulging in politics” in the name of employees and pensioners. Similar facilities are not yet available even at AIIMS Bilaspur or in cities such as Ludhiana and Jalandhar,” said the chief minister while inaugurating a public health camp in the Kangu area of Nadaun Assembly constituency on Sunday.
He affirmed that the state government stands with them during this difficult time. He said the government is going to recruit 300 medical officers, 200 specialist doctors and 150 super-specialist doctors. The CM’s statement comes at a point when the government is in process of raising a loan of ₹ 700 crore to meet its committed liabilities and development needs. The state’s loan has already crossed ₹ 1 lakh crore. Sukhu said that when the Congress came to power and he assumed the office of CM, the state was carrying a debt of ₹ 76,707 crore. Additionally, the previous government had left behind liabilities worth around ₹ 10,000 crore related to employees.
He said in addition to medical colleges, the state government is also appointing specialist doctors at all 70 Adarsh Medical Institutions so that people can access better healthcare close to their homes. He said that these decisions had been made possible due to the financial prudence, fiscal discipline and responsible financial management of the state government.
He said that the state government would also provide Dearness Allowance (DA) to employees in due course. The CM said that he spoke over the phone with Shubham, Sukhvinder’s cousin.
