In the Gujarat Assembly, which saw introduction of a slew of Bills by Health Minister Rushikesh Patel on Friday, one medical law was repealed and another was amended.While ‘The Gujarat State Council for Physiotherapy (Repeal) Bill, 2025’ was passed with a simple majority, ‘The Gujarat Clinical establishments (Registration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025’ was passed unanimously by the House.The Bill to repeal The Gujarat State Council for Physiotherapy Act, 2011, was introduced after the state government established the State Allied and Healthcare Council under the provisions of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Act, 2021.The repeal Bill stated that the state had declared and defined the areas in which the council would work, vide a government notification Health and Family welfare Department dated November 26, 2024. “In view of this, the Gujarat State Council for Physiotherapy Act, 2011, has become redundant and is not required to be kept on the statute book. It is therefore considered necessary to repeal the aforesaid Act,” stated the Bill.While the Congress supported the Bill, AAP opposed it.The introduction of ‘The Gujarat Clinical establishments (Registration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025’ followed a high-level meeting, which was conducted last month with representatives of Gujarat Medical Council (Allopathy), Gujarat Board of Ayurvedic and Unani System of Medicine, and Council of Homeopathy System of Medicine in attendance, to discuss inclusion of representatives from alternate systems of medicine to the state council established under the original Act.The objectives of the amendment included providing “reasonable time to the clinical establishments for registration”.Under Section 9(4), the amendment includes giving a three-year window for registration for clinical establishments that existed before the law and a six-month window of registration to those set up after the enactment of the law.Yoga and naturopathy were deleted from the list of recognised systems of medicine, leaving only allopathy, ayurveda, homeopathy, and siddha and unani as recognised systems. Further, one representative each from dental, homeopathy and ayurveda councils working in the state will be nominated by the state government to the state council.Story continues below this adThe bill set a three-year term for members of the state council and district registering authorities, with an option of renomination for a second three-year term.Congress MLA from Patan, Dr Kirit Patel, questioned the very drafting of the law, asking why amendments had to be brought within three years of enactment.AAP MLA from Dediapada, Chaitar Vasava, raised the issue of contractual and outsourcing regimes in the health sector, the problems in the implementation of the PMJAY scheme on the ground and the issue of quacks and fake nursing colleges, urging the government to crack down on them. Congress MLA from Khedbrahma, Tushar Chaudhary, stated that awareness about the Clinical Establishments Act still remained low, stating that of over two lakh hospitals in the state, only 15% had been registered under this Act as yet.As Chaudhary and AAP MLA from Botad, Umesh Makwana, also referred to a PMJAY racket at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad, Patel clarified that PMJAY and Clinical Establishments Act were two different subjects.Story continues below this ad“However, I want to address the issue of Khyati hospital. When someone plays with people’s lives, we will take exemplary action. The accused have been booked under the most stringent sections of the law,” Patel said.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Gujarat Assembly