The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to set up 57 sub-urban and 17 community health centres, along with child development centres, in different areas of the city. Rs320 crore has been earmarked for the creation of these facilities. The civic body at present operates 57 urban health centres in the city. These are equipped with medical officers, doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, multipurpose health workers and link workers.
Health centres provide services including medical checkups for and provision of nutritious food to pregnant women, and vaccination programmes. In addition, these implement various schemes of the central and state governments, such as the Chiranjeevi Scheme and Janani Suraksha Yojana. At present, many integrated child development centres (anganwadis) are operating out of rented premises. The civic body has decided to furnish these with buildings of their own: around 100 in number.
The central government will provide 85 per cent of the funding required for this project as a grant; the rest will come from the state government and the AMC. The grant will be released in a phased manner, with Rs139 being provided in the first year of implementation, a source said. Meanwhile, Congress corporator from Gomtipur, Bhanuben Makwana has alleged that the AMC has assumed this project despite failing to provide better facilities in the existing healthcare centres. "The AMC plans to set up sub-urban and community health centres with the aid of the central government. But it has failed to upgrade the facilities at the existing ones," she said.
Makwana, a member of the woman and child welfare committee of the civic body, further said that the link workers were being exploited by the AMC. "They are paid a monthly salary of only Rs1,000 though they work for four hours daily," she said.
When contacted, chairman of the health and solid waste management, Praful Rawal said that the link workers were not AMC employees, because of which the civic body had nothing to do with their salaries. "They are appointed by NGOs. So, how can the civic body be made responsible for their low wages," he said.
