Vijayawada, Sept. 14: The minister of state for health and family welfare, Ms Panabaka Lakshmi, announced that the Union Cabinet has approved the allocation Rs 600 crore to encourage medicinal plantations by tobacco farmers in the country. She laid a foundation stone for Advanced Ayurvedic Research Centre for vector-borne diseases at Payakapuram Rajivnagar in the outskirts of city on Sunday. The centre will be build at the cost of Rs 3.34 crores sanctioned by the cetral government. This will become one of 36 ayurveda centres across the country. She also informed that as part of the anti-tobacco movement, the Centre is imposing ban on smoking in public places from October 2 and a penalty of Rs 200 will be imposed. Nearly, 436 cases of polio were there in the state so she alerted people. She also distributed some of the 2000 mosquito nets to the needy ones.