Himachal govt plans Rs 2,835-cr collaboration with JICA for health sector

Himachal Pradesh plans to collaborate with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for a financial assistance of Rs 2,835 crore to strengthen health infrastructure, a state government statement said on Friday.

The Health department is working on a preliminary project report for detailed discussions with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it added.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has placed the health sector as one of his flagship programmes. He is prioritising strengthening healthcare facilities to extend the best medical services to citizens.

Of the total funding, the state government proposes to allocate Rs 1,620 crore towards tertiary care infrastructure.

This includes strengthening new medical colleges in Hamirpur, Chamba and Nahan with a proposed outlay of Rs 1,010 crore, a state government spokesperson said.

Additionally, Rs 400 crore is proposed to be spent on developing super-speciality services for cancer treatment at the medical college in Hamirpur.