BMC allocates Rs 6933.75 crore for health, 15 per cent of total budget

Budget 2022 being tabled at BMC headquarters. Image/Suresh Karkera

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reduced the health budget pie marginally from the overall budget 2022-23 as compared to the 2021-22 budget, it has decided to continue its focus on improving its health infrastructure as Mumbai continues to fight the pandemic with the third wave.

BMC, the country's richest civic body, has allocated Rs 6933.75 crore for health, which is 15% of the total Rs 45949.21 crore budget that was presented by IS Chahal, municipal commissioner at the BMC headquarters on Thursday. According to the BMC data, the health budget was 17% of the total 2021-22 budget.

The BMC's health budget this year had a lot of emphasis on preventive and primary healthcare wherein they plan to introduce health care centres at each neighbour and have yoga centres.

In the first phase, the BMC plans to have a total 100 health care centres where 139 types of tests and diagnostic tests like x-ray, CT Scan, mammography etc will be available at nominal rates. The centres are aimed at reducing the load of patients on major hospitals and peripheral hospitals. It will consist of doctors, medical stores, nursing staff rooms and consultation rooms. The centre will facilitate consultation by specialist and super-specialist doctors from its tertiary care hospitals via telemedicine. BMC has kept Rs 250 crore for capital expenditure and Rs 150 crore for revenue expenditure for this project.

The BMC has special mention of setting up an Early Intervention & Rehabilitation Centre for Differently abled Special Children (EIC) at Byculla.

The centre will provide all medical facilities & therapy to children who suffer from various syndromes like physical disability, mental disability, down syndrome, incapacity, autism, cerebral palsy.