Published on March 21, 2021
AHMEDABAD: In a letter to the principal secretary (health and family welfare) Gujarat in January, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) had sought the state government’s response to a proposed branch of the Nation Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Gujarat.
To put the development in perspective, an MoU was signed between government of Gujarat and the Union government in July 2018 to set up state an NCDC branch at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar (IIPH-G).
Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health and family welfare), said the project is on the track. “We are hopeful about developments in the matter soon,” she said.
‘The state government has been repeatedly requested for transfer of land/signing of a lease deed between the Union government and the state government of Gujarat. Despite various communications since 2018, the state government has not taken any action related to land transfer/signing of lease deed so far,’ reads the letter.
Dr Singh in his letter also asked the state government to take the matter on priority ‘in view of the rise in number of outbreaks or pandemic-like situation (Covid-19).’ Experts said that such a centre can boost the understanding of infectious diseases and the genetic make-up of viruses.
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