Govt to miss medical college deadline
SHILLONG: The State Government is all set to miss the deadline of 2017 to admit the first batch of students in the proposed Shillong Medical College and Hospital to be set up in the city.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek on Monday said that it had taken almost 14 months to start the construction of the new TB hospital at Umsawli.
According to Hek, until the new TB hospital at Umsawli was ready, the Government could not shift the patients from Reid Chest Hospital at Jhalupara. The construction of the Shillong Medical College and Hospital could start only after the patients were shifted to the new hospital.
Reacting to a query, Hek said that the construction of the new hospital at Umsawli had just started and it would take two years for the hospital to be completed.
He however had an idea that if promoter agreed than the construction work for the SMCH could start from those areas which were not required by the Reid Chest Hospital at the moment.
“We can hand over few stretches of the land to them which are not required by the hospital at the moment,” he said.
It may be mentioned that the State Government has signed an agreement with Kolkata-based KPC Group for setting up of the much-awaited Shillong Medical College under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.
The proposed Shillong Medical College site at Jhalupara on a 23.8 acre plot would house over 500 beds and cater to over 200,000 patients every year. To make way for the proposed hospital, the State Government decided to shift the Reid Chest (TB) Hospital to Mawdiangdiang for which a plot of land has been allotted by the Urban Affairs department.
The Government would require a maximum contribution of Rs 100 crore from the private firm for the project and the State Government has similar plans to construct a Medical College in Tura
Hek said that the consultant was busy preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed college at Tura.