Panaji (Goa): The current Manohar Parrikar-led government will re-introduce the scheme, to screen new born babies for detecting the metabolic disorders. The scheme was discontinued by then Parrikar-led government in the year 2012.

“Under the financing from government of India, the baby screening programme will be reintroduced with necessary controls and safety measures,” state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

He said the details of the scheme in its reintroduction phase would be worked out in the days to come.

The scheme which was introduced by Rane during his tenure as Health Minister in Digambar Kamat-led government was discontinued in July 2012 when BJP’s Parrikar-led government came to the power.

Then state Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had told the state legislative Assembly that the scheme, which was being introduced through private agency, was scrapped as the money could be utilised for other purposes.

Parsekar had told the Assembly that state was spending Rs 8.33 crore on the scheme, and the amount could be used to improve rural healthcare facilities like primary health centres or community health centres.

The medical screening of the new-born babies was done to detect metabolic disorders. Bengaluru based Neo-Gen lab was given the contract to screen the babies at Goa Medical College and hospital near here.

Launched in 2008, the babies were being screened under the programme for nearly 50 inborn metabolic disorders.

“Through these screenings we have found that one of 9,000 babies born at GMC has an ‘amino acid disorder’, one out of 11,500 babies has ‘fatty acid disorder’ and one of 30,000-40,000 has an ‘organic acid disorder’,” Parsekar had told the Assembly then.

Team TNV