Gujarat’s coronavirus bill so far: Rs 1,289 crore and still spending

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government has spent a mammoth Rs 1,289 crore between April and October this year in its desperate bid to bring Covid-19 under control. Ironically, back of the envelope calculations reveal that with this kind of money, the state could have built a fully equipped multi-specialty hospital with a capacity of 4,000 beds.
What is more worrying is that the government expects to spend another Rs 1,000 crore until the end of the current financial year on Covid-19 control as forecast remains grim over the future of pandemic control. On Tuesday, the number of dead due to Covid-19 viral outbreak crossed 4,000 in the state while more than 7.8 lakh persons have got infected so far as the state battles a second surge in infection post Diwali festivities.
Top government sources said the state has spent Rs 1,289 crore until October. “A major chunk of the expenditure is on drugs, consumables, PPE kits & masks, diagnostic kits, human resources and some special infrastructure needs,” the official said.
“Going by the current monthly expenditure, before the end of current financial year, an additional Rs 1,000 crore could be spent for covid-19 control activities. All these expenses are non-planned and beyond the allocated budget for planned expenditure,” the official said.
Expenditure on Covid-19 a huge burden
The unplanned expenditure on covid-19 control activities is turning out to be a huge burden on the state exchequer and the state’s health infrastructure. Officials said the recently constructed new division of the kidney hospital cost the government a sum of Rs 330 crore while the new U N Mehta heart hospital cost another Rs 300 crore.
“A brand new speciality hospital with 4,000 beds could have been made in the amount the government has spent on covid-19 control. If we consider the projected cost of covid-19 control until March next year, the bed capacity of the new hospital would have been 7,500,” said an official.