Govt sticks to plan, medical college to come up in Mohali

HAVING 200 MBBS SEATS, THE COLLEGE WILL BE SET UP ON LAND NEXT TO CIVIL HOSPITAL; CENTRE TO BEAR 60% COST OF THE PROJECT

CHANDIGARH: Following the controversy over shifting of the proposed medical college from Mohali to Sangrur, the state government has reverted to its initial plan.

The college was sanctioned for Punjab in 2012 when Union government announced setting up of 30 new medical colleges across the country.

Having 220 MBBS seats, it will be the fourth government medical college in Punjab.

The other three medical colleges are in Patiala, Faridkot and Amritsar. The Centre will bear 60% of the total cost of the project.

Earlier this month, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh directed health minister Brahm Mohindra to explore with the Union government the possibility of shifting the proposed college to a border area, possibly Sangrur.

The move was questioned even by some Congress leaders among others.

Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa also criticised the move and demanded that the college should be set up in Gurdaspur district citing dearth of medical facilities in the Majha region.

Health department officials claimed that the CM had asked Mohindra to seek possibilities of shifting the college to Sangrur as hardly any land was available in Mohali.

“But now this bottleneck is over. Our plan is to open the college using the already existing infrastructure and land of the Mohali civil hospital. The only reason for shifting of the college to some other district was non-availability of 10 acres of land for the project. Now, we have found a big chunk of government land just next to the Mohali civil hospital,” Mohindra told HT.

Former Punjab assembly deputy speaker Bir Devinder Singh had alleged that the government was shifting the proposed college under pressure from private hospitals as it would hit their business.

“Were officials not aware about the land available next to the civil hospital when the plan was discussed with the CM?” questioned a Congress leader from Mohali.