Citing major expansion of medical infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the state has moved from “One District One Mafia” to “One District One Medical College”, in a veiled attack on the previous regime.
Speaking at the inauguration of a private hospital in Agra, the chief minister said the number of medical colleges in the state has increased from 17 earlier to 81 now. He credited the “double-engine government” of the BJP at the centre and in the state for accelerating development.
Earlier in the day, Yogi attended a closed-door coordination meeting with Braj Prant unit of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) in Agra.
Adityanath said coordinated efforts by the government, society and institutions have strengthened public trust and helped transform Uttar Pradesh. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, saying the country is moving towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.
“The double-engine government has made the developmental model flourish, and what could not be achieved in 70 years has been achieved in 10 years. The number of AIIMS rose to six from one during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but PM Modi took the number to 30,” the chief minister said.
“There were 17 medical colleges in UP, but now 81 are functional. Previous regime was controlled by mafia and made it ‘One District, One Mafia’, but UP is now known for ‘One District One Medical College’. We have bought six crore citizens out of poverty,” the chief minister said.
Yogi said the expansion of healthcare infrastructure has been accompanied by welfare measures. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, around 5.60 crore golden cards have been issued in Uttar Pradesh, with a target of covering 10 crore beneficiaries. The state government has also created a ₹1,300-crore Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to provide financial assistance for medical treatment to those not covered under existing schemes, he pointed out.
The chief minister said efforts are being made to strengthen medical research and technology, adding that IIT-Kanpur and SGPGI (Lucknow) are being developed as centres of excellence. A pharma park spread over 1,500 acres is also being developed in Lalitpur to promote pharmaceutical manufacturing in the state. Diseases that once posed a major challenge, particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh, are now being effectively controlled, he added.
Encouraging private investment in the healthcare sector, Yogi said the government will extend full support to private institutions establishing super-speciality medical facilities, while acknowledging that government infrastructure alone has its limitations.
The programme was attended by Union minister of state and MP from Agra SP Singh Baghel, UP minister Yogendra Upadhayay, and district panchayat chief Manju Bhadoria among others.