The ambulances, equipped with life-saving medical gadgets, would be deployed in rural areas to treat patients in times of emergency. The allocation of ambulances to the districts would be done in proportion to population, with one ambulance for every one lakh people. Each of them would display a photograph of Chief Minister Mayawati on the side, said an official.

State Health Minister Anant Kumar Mishra held a meeting with his department officials and private players interested in running the ambulances at UP Sadan in Delhi on January 23 and discussed three projects to be launched under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. The minister is reported to have expressed his desire to start them before the Lok sabha elections at the meeting that was also attended by director of the National Rural Health Mission, representatives of Apollo Hospital, Medicontriverse Pvt Ltd, Lal Pathology, Max Healthcare, Fortis Hospital, Jeevan Jyoti Hospital and Heritage Hospitals.

The private players selected for the Rs 300-crore project will have to purchase ambulances, equip and manage them properly. The state government would bear the cost of maintenance and other expenses on an annual basis, said the director of a company that runs similar ambulances in another state.

The minister also asked the private players to take over the regional diagnostic centres in Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Noida and Gorakhpur, which would remain with the state government, but be under direct control of private players for smooth functioning and maintenance.

“The private player is supposed to provide expertise and technical staff at the diagnostic centres. The government is ready to shift the existing staff to government hospitals if the private operator cannot take them,” said a senior officer.

As many as 12 district hospitals are also proposed to be given to private parties on PPP basis in the first phase.