Unable to tame a private medical college in Himachal Pradesh that is allegedly defying the terms of reference for setting up the institution, the Government has warned that it would do whatever the law permits to make it abide by the State laws.
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Health Minister Kaul Singh denied that the Government was being soft with the private medical college set up in Solan district.
“The Medical Council of India has permitted 150 MBBS seats for the new medical college and the State quota of seats reserved in the institution would be filled as per counseling conducted the State Medical Education Department,” he said.
However, he admitted that the medical college had changed the terms of reference and instead of being affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University, it had presented its case before the MCI showing affiliation to a private university that was run by the same trust which had opened the college.
We will not allow this, said the Minister. The Government would do whatever it takes to bring the college under the ambit of HPU, as was envisaged in the MoU when permission was granted for setting up the institution.
Having just admitted a second batch of 150 students for a bachelors medicine course, the private medical college functioning had raised eyebrows when MCI had retained its student intake strength but had reduced seats in two state run government run medical colleges from 200 to 115. After much protest and lobbying the 200 seats now stand restored.
He said plans were afoot to expand their intake capacity to 150 seats in each of the two colleges for which funds had been approved by the Centre.
Besides, he said, three other medical colleges in the State sector are being set up for which the Central Government has sanctioned Rs 189 crore each. The colleges within three years are to come up in Chamba, Nahan and Hamirpur, and were approved by the previous UPA Government.
The State was going to have two cancer hospitals, one the cancer department of IGMC Shimla was to be upgraded to a full fledged cancer hospital and the other was going to be established at zonal hospital Mandi, after investing Rs 45 crore on each of these specialty hospitals, the Minister said.
Other than upgrading Kamla Nehru Hospital Shimla to a mother and child care hospital, zonal hospital Mandi and Tanda Medical College, Kangra would also have similar specialised institutions for mother and child care.
After having made the super specialty faculties at Tanda Medical College operational for which Rs 150 crore was spent, Centre has approved a similar project for IGMC, Shimla. Of the Rs 150 crore to be spent for upgrading the Shimla college, Rs 120 crore would be funded by the Centre and the rest would be pitched in by the State.
In association with AIIMS, Delhi, the HP medical department has introduced tele stroke medicine and opened 18 primary stroke centres.