RANCHI: In a major Cabinet decision, the Jharkhand Government on Wednesday slashed the air ambulance charges by almost 50 per cent. The Jharkhand Cabinet gaveits approval for a total of 37 proposals which also includes that of waiving loan of farmers up to Rs 2 lakh.According to Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dedel, the service charges have been cut down so that more and more people could take advantage of this scheme.“The Cabinet Okayed the proposal to cut down the air ambulance services being provided by the state government, according to which the service charges have been slashed by nearly 50 per cent from the current rate,” said Dadel. Now, the revised charges from Ranchi to New Delhi has been decreased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 3.10 lakh, Ranchi-Mumbai charges has been cut down to Rs 4 from Rs 7 lakh, Rs 8 lakh to Rs 3.30 lakh for Ranchi-Chennai, she added.Similarly, according to the Cabinet Secretary, the service charges have been decreased to Rs 1 lakh from 3 lakh for Ranchi to Kolkata and from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh for Ranchi to Hyderabad.Notably, in a first-of-its-kind initiative to boost medical transport facilities to higher medical centres in emergency-like situations, the Jharkhand government rolled out an air ambulance service on April 28, last year. The ambulance service, equipped with emergency equipment and doctors, is is made available within two hours of booking.One can reschedule the flight with a precondition that it does not affect the bookings of other applicants. Apart from Ranchi, air ambulance services are also made available from Deoghar, Dumka, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih and Jamshedpur.In another Cabinet decision, approval was also given to the proposal of doubling the honorarium being paid to the tribal village heads like Manki, Parganait, Munda, Gram Pradhan, Dakuwa, Paranik, Jogmanjhi, Kudam Nayaki, Nayaki, Godait, Mool Raiyat, Rural Diuri (Priest), Padha Raja, Head of Gram Sabha, Ghatwal and Tavedar.Currently, Manki receives Rs 3,000 per month, while Munda and village heads receive Rs 2,000 per month. Other positions, including Dakua, Parganaut, Paranik, Jog Manjhi, Kudam Nayaki, Nayaki, Godait, Mool Rayat, Padha Raja, head of Gram Sabha, Ghatwal, Tavedar, and villagers’ Diuri (priest), are compensated with a monthly honorarium of Rs 1,000, which has now been doubled.Giving relief the farmers, the Cabinet has also given its approval to waive farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh. As many as 1.91 lakh farmers are expected to get relief through by this decision.
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