Himachal govt committed to strengthening health service, says CM's Media Advisor Naresh Chauhan

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], January 11 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's Principal Media Advisor, Naresh Chauhan, said on Thursday that the state government is committed to providing quality health services to the people of the state at their very doorstep, adding that the direction to initiate the Health Information Management System (HIMS) in a time-bound manner in all the health institutions in the state will help the doctors to know the history of a patient in a single click.
During a press conference here, he said that to reach the rural population and address their concerns relating to health services, the state government, as of now, has deputed six specialist doctors in 35 'Adarsh Swasthya Sansthans', i.e., one in each constituency, and mulls to depute the specialists in Swasthya Sansthans in 33 constituencies soon so that the people of rural areas could benefit from it, the press release said.
He said that to further facilitate the people, the PET scan machine will soon be installed in two medical colleges in the first phase, as people have to go for the scan in neighboring states at present, spending huge amounts on the same.
"The Chief Minister today conducted a review meeting of the health services. The government has decided to start health facilities in a health centre with a minimum of six doctors in all 68 assembly constituencies. In the first phase in 35 places, the state has also decided that HIMS systems will be started with digitization," it added.
The Supreme Court on Thursday approved the Shimla Development Plan 2041 which is aimed to contribute towards the ease of living in Himachal Pradesh's capital city, saying there are sufficient safeguards in the plan to balance the need for development while taking care of and addressing environmental and ecological concerns.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Aravind Kumar quashed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which had put a stay on the development plan.
The bench said Himachal Pradesh and its instrumentalities are permitted to proceed with the implementation of the development plan as published on June 20, 2023.
The apex court further said that the development plan has been finalized after considering the reports of various expert committees and the studies undertaken about various aspects, including environmental and ecological aspects.
"Prima facie, there are sufficient safeguards in development plan to balance the need for development while taking care of and addressing environmental and ecological concerns," it added.
Welcoming the apex court's decision, Naresh Chauhan said that it was due to the concerted efforts of the present state government that the case was effectively pleaded before the Supreme Court against the blanket ban on carrying out the development activities and the constructions in Shimla.
"Today the judgement of the Supreme Court has given much-needed relief to the people of Shimla to carry out development activities that were in limbo for the past many years," he said.
Naresh Chauhan credited the victory to the consistent efforts of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who, he said, hired experienced lawyers to argue the case.
He also lauded the Supreme Court's decision, which stated that the exercise of power for finalising the development plan rests with the state government, and the NGT can't issue directions or encroach upon the statutory functions of the state. (ANI)