The Assam Government on Thursday kick-started an ambitious Rs 150-crore public-private partnership (PPP) initiative aimed at covering healthcare of over 10 lakh tea plantation labourers and their families in its first phase. This is definitely the biggest ever PPP initiative in the healthcare sector,and it is going to provide a big boost to the overall health scenario of the state. It is also a revolutionary step, said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi,who inaugurated the project. The project,to be spread over the next four years,aims at tackling several major health issues including large number of deaths due to malaria,diarrhoea and water-borne diseases among the semi-literate tea plantation labourers. Malnutrition among women and children in the tea gardens is also a cause of concern,Gogoi said. The Assam Government,which will provide Rs 15 lakh per annum to 166 tea gardens of the state in the first phase this year,has already signed MoUs with the managements of these tea gardens.
