The Aardram Mission is a significant initiative of the State Government to improve the basic infrastructure facilities in health sector and provide better services to the common man, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has said here.
He was inaugurating the distribution of Ardra Keralam awards for 2018-19 financial year at C. Kesavan Memorial Town Hall on Sunday.
Pointing out various interventions made by the local bodies during the pandemic, he added that construction works were currently going on at many Government facilities in the district.
“Aardarm is one of the flagship initiatives of the State Government and various programmes under the mission could garner national attention,” the Minister said.
Kollam Corporation bagged the award in Corporation category and the award that carries a purse of ₹10 lakh was handed over at the event.
Mayor Prasanna Ernest, Deputy Mayor Kollam Madhu, Health Standing Committee chairperson U. Pavithra and health workers received the award from the Minister.
Better infrastructure
“The activities of the Kollam Corporation are exemplary and other local bodies should follow it. The infrastructure of hospitals and health centres in the district were given a facelift through the mission and the Corporation should be able to provide even better services in the future,” said the Minister who added that the Punalur taluk hospital was a model for other facilities.
The Minister distributed the award to the Kottarakkara block panchayat (₹3 lakh) that came in the third position among all block panchayats in the State while Alappad (₹5 lakh) and Klappana (₹3 lakh) panchayats received the district-level awards. The award is given in recognition of the exceptional work done by the local bodies in health sector as part of Aardram, one of the initiatives under the Nava Kerala Mission.
Mayor Prasanna Ernest presided over the function.
N.K. Premachandran, MP, Kottarakkara block panchayat president M. Sivaprasad, Alappad panchayat president U. Ullas, Klappana panchayat president Minimol, District Medical Officer-in-Charge J. Manikandan and NHM District Programme Manager Dev Kiran were present.
