Rajasthan first to declare 29 gram panchayats as TB free: CM Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said Rajasthan is the first state in the country to declare 29 gram panchayats as tuberculosis-free.

He said four district of the state got silver medal and four got bronze medal at the national level for excellent work in TB eradication.

"This indicates our serious efforts towards eradication of tuberculosis," he said at a TB-free Rajasthan conference here.

He said that the state government is continuously working to make Rajasthan the number one state in all sectors, including health, by 2030 to realise the vision of "Nirogi Rajasthan".

"It is our commitment to provide health services to the last person by providing medical facilities in every village," he said.

The programme was held at the chief minister's residence where he also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development works through video conference. He also flagged off 70 new ambulances on the occasion.

"The life of a patient suffering from tuberculosis is very painful. Twenty-six per cent of the world's TB patients are in India and of them, six per cent are in Rajasthan. Our aim is to make Rajasthan TB-free by 2025, he said.

The chief minister said the TB-free gram panchayat campaign is being conducted to identify and treat patients up to the panchayat level.

He said Rajasthan is the first state in the country to declare 29 gram panchayats as tuberculosis-free.

The chief minister said that health and education are among the main priorities of the state government.

"Good human resource develops only from excellent health and education infrastructure," he said.

Gehlot said Rajasthan is the first state in the country to enact a law to give the right to health to the common people.

He said the residents are being given free treatment of up to Rs 25 lakh and accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh under the Chiranjeevi scheme.

Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena also addressed the function.