New Delhi: The Centre has approved the Meghalaya government's proposal for setting up of the Directorate of AYUSH in the state, a minister said.

Meghalaya health minister AL Hek said he attended a video conference meeting convened by the Union AYUSH minister, Shripad Naik on Thursday (July 30).

"The Government of India has approved the proposal to ensure Meghalaya has its own Directorate of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy," Hek said on Thursday.

He said the health department has already written to the revenue department and urban affairs department requesting for allotment of land for the construction of the infrastructures for the AYUSH directorate.

The Meghalaya health minister said that the Union AYUSH ministry has also agreed in principle to sanction 13 of the 19 AYUSH health and wellness centres for Meghalaya proposed during 2019-20.

"The state government has also proposed another 22 health and wellness centres for the current financial year 2020-21," he said.

The Union ministry had earlier this year decided to set up over 12,500 AYUSH health and wellness centres across the country.

The Union ministry had proposed that the health and wellness centres should be 'standalone' units, Hek said.

The state health minister said that in Meghalaya where land acquisition is a big problem, "we have decided to set up the health and wellness centres in the existing public health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) but we will have standalone centres based on the availability of land."