New Delhi: The Centre has assured to expedite the work for setting up of a medical college at Tura and help the Meghalaya Government in opening both GNM and ANM schools in the state.
The assurance came from Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan when Meghalaya Minister for Health and Family Welfare AL Hek called on him on Thursday.
Hek told Vardhan that the state Government had already signed an MoU with the ministry for establishing a medical college at Tura. “This should be accelerated since the remote landlocked state has no medical college,” he said.
Hek had already visited the proposed site for the medical college at Balalgre/Jewilgre, 17 kilometers from Tura.
The State Government has entrusted the task of preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for construction of the Tura Medical College-cum-Hospital to a Delhi-based firm-Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. The firm will work out the modalities for infrastructural ) and other related works besides carrying out a detailed survey of the proposed site.
The proposed medical college to be constructed on the 99 acres of land will have the capacity to cater to 500 patients, besides accommodating 100 students.
Incidentally, the Planning Commission has also identified Meghalaya as a deficit state as far as medical facilities are concerned and NEIGRIHMS has 50 MBBS seats out of which only nine are reserved for domiciles of the state.
Hek also informed the Union Minister that the state Government had proposed to open GNM/ANM schools in the districts of Ri Bhoi, West Khasi Hills, East Garo Hills and South Garo Hills. While the state has got sanction for GNM schools the same is still awaited for ANM schools, he said.