Lok Sabha Question No. 872 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-07
Subject: Healthcare Facilities in Remote/Tribal Areas
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA

## MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH ANDFAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 872 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2025

## HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN REMOTE/TRIBAL AREAS

## 872. DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state;

(a) whether the Government is providing improved healthcare facilities to the people across the country through its different scheme:

- (b) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether any measures has been taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to provide adequate healthcare facilities in remote/tribal dominated areas particularly like Palghar constituency in the State of Maharashtra; and

(d) if so, the details thereof, area-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (d) : The National Health Mission (NHM) provides support for improvement in health infrastructure, availability of adequate human resources in health facilities, to improve availability and accessibility to quality health care especially for the under served and marginalized groups in rural areas across the country. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare system, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under NHM. The Government of India provides approval for the proposals in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs) as per norms & available resources.

Various initiatives carried out under NHM by the Government of India in various States/UTs including in remote/tribal dominated areas particularly like Palghar constituency are operationalisation of Ayushman Arogya Mandir, National Ambulance Services, Mobile Medical Units, ASHAs, 24 x 7 Services and First Referral facilities, Prime Minister's National Dialysis Programme, Free Diagnostics Service Initiative and Free Drugs Service Initiative, various activities under Reproductive & Child Health, Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy, Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (PMTBMBA) and Universal Immunization programme.

Under NHM, tribal areas have following relaxed norms addressing the need-based intervention in terms of healthcare infrastructure and human resources:

i. The population norms for setting up health facilities in tribal areas have been relaxed from 5,000, 30,000 and 1,20,000 to 3000, 20,000 and 80,000 for setting up of Sub-Health Centre (SHC), Primary Health Centre (PHC) and Community Health Centre (CHC) in tribal and hilly areas respectively;

ii. Against norm of one ASHA per 1000 population in normal areas, one ASHA per habitation in Tribal/hilly and difficult areas; and iii. Against the norm of 2 Mobile Medical Units (MMU) per district in plains, 4 MMUs per district in tribal/ hilly/ inaccessible/ remote and hard to reach areas.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) launched on 15th November, 2023, further relaxation in NHM norms has been provided to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) areas as under:

- i. Upto 10 MMUs per districts with PVTG areas; and

ii. Provision of one additional ANM on Multi Purpose Centres (MPCs) and making available basic drugs and diagnostics in the PVTG areas.

Further, under PM-JANMAN, 84 MMUs are operational in the State of Mahrashtra, out of which 8 MMUs are operational in Palghar District for providing basic health services in remote and vulnerable tribal areas.

Under Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PMABHIM), 1 Critical Care Hospital Block and 1 Integrated District Public Health Laboratory has been approved for Palghar district of Maharashtra.

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