Health minister focuses on projects hanging fire

SHILLONG: Health and family welfare minister AL Hek, who has been assigned charge of the health department for a second consecutive time, is keen to complete pending projects, especially the Shillong and Tura medical colleges and hospitals.
Speaking to the media on the first day of assuming office, Hek said apart from the two medical colleges, he would prioritise the completion of the cancer wing at Shillong Civil Hospital, a project hanging fire for long.
Hek, a BJP legislator, held the health portfolio in the previous Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) government before he was dropped in 2016. The previous government had planned the two medical colleges in Tura and Shillong.
The Tura medical college will be a government-run institute while the Shillong medical college will be set up on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
The foundation stones for both the projects were laid by former chief minister Mukul Sangma last year.
The structure to house the cancer wing at Shillong Civil Hospital was completed last year but various machinery and equipment need to be installed before it is finally operationalised.
The construction of the cancer wing kick-started in 2011 with the Department of Atomic Energy providing a sum of Rs 26 crore for the purpose.