Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday made a significant announcement that all funds from the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) and North Eastern Council (NEC) will be diverted for the health sector for this year. The CM also requested the doctors to prepare a proposal, as they would be the best to suggest on how to improve health facility in the state. This move will aid to the effort of improving health infrastructure and facilities in the state. The Covid-19 pandemic has truly exposed the poor health care infrastructure of the state.
The state has been lucky that so far only one person has been found positive and the person has already recovered from it. As the threat of the Covid-19 spreading further loomed large, the state government scrambled and managed to upgrade some of the hospitals during the lockdown period. However these measures are not enough and the health sector needs a huge investment to witness any kind of visible changes at the grass root. In this context, the decision of Chief Minister Pema Khandu to divert large chunk of funds into health sector is a wise decision and every Arunachalee will support the move. The CM deserves appreciation for recognizing the need to upgrade the health infrastructure and for making efforts to improve them. He has given the responsibility to the doctors to prepare a road map to improve the health facility in the state. The onus lies with doctors of the state to come up with a long-term plan which will truly improve the health sector of the state. In the process, the CM should ensure that funds are properly utilized and every penny is made accountable.