CM wants medical college project shifted to Sangrur
Wednesday, 14/02/2018
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/cm-wants-medical-college-project-shifted-to-sangrur/543711.html
Chandigarh: Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has directed Health Minister Brahm Mohindra to explore with the Union Government the possibility of shifting the proposed medical college in Mohali to a border area, possibly Sangrur, and to plan all future health projects in areas that lack facilities.
The CM said he would also meet Union Health Minister JP Nadda to discuss the change of the medical college site, besides writing to the PM to expedite the AIIMS project in Bathinda, for which the state has completed the necessary formalities.
The Rs 800-crore AIIMS project is 100 per cent centrally sponsored, while the Rs 300-crore medical college is on a Centre-state sharing pattern in 70:30 ratio.
The directives from the CM came here during a meeting today to review the status of the two projects, aimed at raising the health infrastructure bar in the state.
Amarinder was informed that Mohali was selected for the medical college under a scheme floated in 2012, for which a pre-condition required that the city should have a 200-bed hospital which the Centre could help upgrade. At that time, Mohali had one Civil Hospital, with 200 beds, and no private hospital or medical college, and thus met the terms and conditions of the scheme. Since then, however, more needy areas had also emerged to meet the conditions and could be selected for uplift of the medical facilities, it was discussed.
Noting that concentrating all facilities in Mohali would lead to lopsided development, since neighbouring Chandigarh already has medical colleges, the CM suggested setting up the medical college in under-developed border areas. Finance Minister Manpreet Badal agreed that Sangrur would be an ideal place for the proposed college.
