Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said the government will set up 700 Aapla Davakhana (health clinics) in the state named after Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. Shinde in a statement said strengthening the health infrastructure remains a top priority of his government and the health budget will be doubled.

The purpose behind the Aapla Davakhana initiative is to provide medical facilities to people close to their homes. Around 700 such clinics will be opened in the state, and Mumbai alone will have 227 such facilities, of which 50 were started on October 2, the statement said. The development assumes significance in light of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. The announcement has also come a day before the two rival factions of the Shiv Sena hold their annual Dussehra rallies.

The state government has decided to open a medical college in every district so that people in rural areas get the best quality treatment, Shinde said. Medical colleges at the district level will ensure that the rural areas get an adequate number of doctors and paramedical staff, he said.

Moreover, to strengthen the health infrastructure in the state, primary health care centres, sub-hospitals, and rural hospitals will be graded, the chief minister said, adding that the government will also open catherisation laboratories in the state.