Maharashtra wants to make Palghar another Mumbai – but healthcare gaps are yawning

The Maharashtra government has ambitious plans for Palghar district. Seven large projects such as a bullet train that will pass through to Gujarat and the Vadhavan Port are aimed at transforming Palghar into another Mumbai to decongest the crowded metropolis to the south.

But the reality of this Adivasi-dominated district is starkly different from India’s commercial capital. Palghar, like other Adivasi-dominated districts in the wealthy state of Maharashtra, suffers from malnutrition, a dearth of livelihoods, depletion of forests and, crucially, maternal and infant deaths.

In April, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an upgrade in health services in Maharashtra that would ensure healthcare access for communities within 5 km of where they live.

But the same month, health activists presented ground-level research on public healthcare and access in the district at the ninth Maharashtra Mahika Arogya Hakk Parishad in Palgarh’s Chahade village.

They highlighted major gaps in Palghar’s medical infrastructure to reiterate that extending equal healthcare access, especially for poor and marginalised residents, will be a formidable challenge for the state government.

Participants at the meeting highlighted the challenges of inadequate basic facilities and insufficient technicians and doctors in rural areas. They also emphasised the toll this takes on the lives of women and workers in the informal sector.

So underdeveloped is the health infrastructure in Palgarh...

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