Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Faggan Singh Kulaste has said the Centre will consider setting up a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre here if the State government submits a proposal.
Speaking to the presspersons during a visit to KIMS on Monday, Mr. Kulaste said the Dharwad MP has made an appeal to set up the centre at a cost of ₹67 crore. He had also briefed on the need to set up such a centre here. The Centre will support this proposal. However, the formal proposal should come from the State government. “I request the State government to send a proposal, so that I can take it up with the Union Health Minister and see that approval is given at the earliest,” he said. Mr. Kulaste said that in the last two years, the Centre has increased the number of medical seats in the country by 15,000. This has been done to provide health service in rural areas. “However, it is unfortunate that most doctors are not choosing to work in rural areas,” he said.
About the artificial scarcity created by pharmaceutical companies for stunts, he said the Centre had slashed the price of essential medicines. However, he did not spell out any action against companies that are creating the ‘scarcity’.
