AAP Chief Spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Monday informed that the CAG report revealed that Uttarakhand has the worst health services amongst all Himalayan states. He said that the condition of health services in Uttarakhand is so bad that patients lose their life before they even reach the hospital. Saurabh Bhardwaj further revealed that Uttarakhand’s health budget was Rs 188 cr in 2018-19, reduced to just Rs 97 cr in 2019-20 and only 5.25 paise is being spent on per person’s health in a year; Ambulances are not available to bring patients to hospitals, air ambulances are used only for big politicians and their relatives and the common man has been left to die there. He stated that debt on Uttarakhand continues to increase and at present Uttarakhand government has a debt of Rs 65,982 cr. He further revealed that Uttarakhand government accounts had adequate funds in 2019-20, yet this year a loan of Rs 5,100 cr has been taken at expensive rates.
AAP Chief Spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The recently published CAG report 2019-20 has revealed the extremely poor conditions of the Health sector in Uttarakhand. In the past, we have also seen many such news reports covering similar news. Uttarakhand, which has a rocky terrain, has an appalling state of dispensaries, hospitals, and government health facilities. Most of the people in Uttarakhand die before even reaching a hospital because the number of hospitals is very less.”
He said, “This CAG report further reveals that, amongst all the Himalayan States, Uttarakhand has the worst health sector. The health situation is so grim that many women die in the initial stages of their pregnancy. The availability of ambulances is also very poor such that ‘Dandi Kandis’ are used to take the patients to the hospitals and most of the time they die before reaching the hospitals.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The health situation is so awful that the government’s budget for 2018-19 which was Rs 188 cr was reduced to a low of Rs 97 cr in 2019-20. If this budget is distributed per person, then it will come out to be 5.25 paise per person. So, the Uttarakhand government spends 5.25 paise per person on health. As per CAG, the use of air ambulances is done only for big politicians and their relatives and when it comes to the common man, he is left there to die.”
He said, “CAG’s report has revealed many such shocking pieces of information as well. The most important information therein is that the loan on the Uttarakhand government is constantly increasing. Currently, the Uttarakhand government is in a debt of Rs 65,982 cr. This debt is increasing every year. Moreover, the government has adequate cash in many sub-bodies. Yet, the Government is unnecessarily taking loans from the market at expensive rates. Despite the Uttarakhand government having adequate cash in its account in 2019-20, loans were taken at rates higher than the market in April, July, August, September, and December. The Uttarakhand government has taken a loan of about Rs 5,100 cr from the market at expensive rates this year. Moreover, the report also reveals that the government has spent about Rs 100 cr and is not aware of where it was spent.”
