Rourkela: Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) has received more than Rs 23 crore from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund for various developmental projects during the last five years, according to sources. The district administration has utilised the fund under several heads for salaries of paramedical staffers and doctors, and purchase of equipment and machines.
Sources said Rs 5.23 crore of DMF fund was provided for the benefit of hemoglobinopathy patients in 2018-19. Similarly, Rs 32.24 lakh was provided for installation of an ultrasound machine at RGH during the same period. In 2019-20, Rs 6.20 lakh was spent on two battery-operated vehicles while Rs 2.37 lakh was drawn from DMF to meet the salary expenses of those working under Nirmala Yojana. In the same year, RGH got a pair of DG sets for Rs 25.89 lakh and Rs 27.74 lakh for installation of high mast lights at the healthcare facility. In 2020-21, RGH received Rs 2.63 crore for operationalisation of dialysis and city scan units on PPP mode.
At the same time, Rs 45.50 lakh was provided from the mineral fund for laying the oxygen pipeline. Ophthalmology department received Rs 3.94 crore while Rs 63.60 lakh was allocated for medicine and orthopaedic implants during 2021-22. Likewise, Rs 17.75 lakh was granted for procurement of DG sets for OPD and IPD. In 2022-23, Rs 48 lakh was sanctioned for payment to a private hospital where critically ill paediatric patients were being referred. Similarly, Rs 1.20 crore DMF fund was spent on OT modernisation and purchase of machines.
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In 2023-24, Rs 4.64 crore was spent on city scan. The latest data shows, between August 23 and March 24, Rs 2.87 lakh was paid towards salaries of doctors and Rs 1.62 lakh towards the remuneration of paramedical staffers.
