Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday conducted a comprehensive review of the Chief Minister Sahara Scheme and the Himcare Scheme, reiterating the state government’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare delivery system and ensuring that welfare benefits reach genuine beneficiaries.
During the review meeting, the Chief Minister directed that a local audit of the Sahara Scheme be conducted to ensure that its benefits are extended only to eligible beneficiaries. He said that a three-member committee would be constituted at the district level to verify beneficiary eligibility under the scheme. Emphasizing transparency and accountability, he also directed that beneficiaries of the Sahara Scheme be linked with the Him Parivar Portal.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the health sector remains a top priority for the state government and continuous efforts are being made to streamline systems and improve service delivery. He issued necessary guidelines regarding various parameters and budgetary provisions under the Himcare Scheme to further strengthen its implementation.
The Chief Minister said that beneficiary verification at the time of registration under the Himcare Scheme would be carried out through face recognition technology. Necessary directions in this regard have been issued to the Departments of Health and Digital Technologies and Governance. He added that data analysis under the Himcare Scheme would be undertaken to assess disease prevalence in the state, which would support evidence-based policy formulation in the health sector.
He further directed the authorities to clear pending payments of private hospitals under the Himcare Scheme at the earliest. It was also decided that permission would be granted for treatment in private wards of government health institutions under the scheme, providing more flexibility and choice to beneficiaries.
Highlighting the vision of a Healthy Himachal, the Chief Minister said that several advanced healthcare facilities have been established across the state to provide quality medical services closer to people’s homes. These include robotic surgery, the State Cancer Institute, PET scan and SPECT scan facilities. He added that initiatives such as the establishment of 70 Model Health Institutions, the Rogi Mitra Scheme, Wellness Centres and the Trauma Centre at IGMC Shimla are significant steps towards making the health sector self-reliant and future-ready.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Minister’s Principal Advisor (Innovation, Digital Technologies and Governance) Gokul Butail, Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, Secretary Health Priyanka Basu Ingty and senior officers of the Health Department.
