Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on October 24 said that providing better medical facilities to the people is the priority of the state government.

The Chief Minister said this while addressing a seminar on medicinal plants for health and culture organized by 'Health Bharti' at Ranchi Press Club. "Positive work is being done in health sector since the formation of the government. Construction of Homoeopathy College in Godda is completed. Soon this college will be inaugurated. Construction of Ayurvedic College in Chaibasa is in progress. The building of the Yunani College in Giridih is ready," Das said.

Das said that a healthy society will create a prosperous and developed state, adding the state government has focus on healthcare. "Five acres of land has been identified at Itki (in Ranchi) for 50-bed Ayush Hospital. A proposal to the Union Government has been sent in this regard. The Central Council of Yoga and Naturopathy have been given a place in Ranchi for conducting yoga. This centre will start in a month," an official release said quoting Das.

The state government has given 15 acres of land to the Central Council of Yoga and Naturopathy in Deoghar district for the establishment of Yoga and Naturopathy Hospital, he said. The work of developing herbal garden at National Health Mission campus is in progress, the Chief Minister said, adding recently a team headed by AYUSH campaign director went on a tour of Chhattisgarh.

"It is the government's priority to develop AYUSH. The estimated budget of National AYUSH Mission has been kept by the government for Rs 28 crore," he said. The chief minister said that there is immense potential for employment in Ayurvedic medicine sector, adding Jharkhand is a state of forest cover and all the plants have medicinal properties. "The state government will make medicinal plant board functional. The work of making Ayurvedic medicines through this board will be done. We should adopt modern science and technology to this traditional science and produce better quality medicine," he said.