Wednesday, March 2 2005 16:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Karnataka would soon be receiving Rs 1100 crore external aid including Rs 600 crore from World Bank for healthcare improvement projects, Minister for Health C Cheluvaraya Swamy said today (Mar 2, 2005).

The World Bank has completed all formalities for extending Rs 600 crore financial assistance and it would get Rs 500 crore aid from Germany for upgrading hospitals in the Gulbarga division, he said in Bangalore.

The World Bank funds were expected by this June, he said adding, primary health centres and primary health units and other hospitals would be upgraded.

The Government was contemplating to establish Ayurveda treatment centres at gram panchayat level, for which the Centre would be extending Rs 25,000 assistance for each unit.

In the first phase, the Government planned to establish 40 Ayurveda clinics and has asked panchayats to provide space, he said.

The Government has constituted Rapid Response Teams to initiate preventive measures to check spread of epidemic diseases during the coming months, Swamy said.

He said that in the last three years the allocation to health department had shrunk and he has asked for more funds in the coming budget to be presented by Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on March 11.