SHILLONG, July 9: The much touted Shillong Medical College project which was mooted in 2011 seems to have gone the way of most of the projects in the state – all in the backburner.
On Friday, Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma said the state government is exploring the possibilities of retendering the proposed Shillong Medical College after the firm which had signed an agreement had sought increased rates due to the price escalation.
“We may have to do retendering since we cannot just comply with the request of the firm to increase the rates. It will not be possible to give the firm a new rate without calling for tenders,” Sangma told reporters here on Friday.
It may be mentioned that the previous Congress-led MUA Government had signed an agreement with the Kolkata-based firm, Kali Pradip Chaudhuri (KPC) Group for development of the Shillong Medical College under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
The Chief Minister is of the view that the matter is at present so complicated that it will not be possible for the government to go ahead with the project without properly examining it.
He said the project has been delayed because the location has not been feasible adding that there are also some land issues which are almost resolved.
The Chief Minister also stated that the Health Department wants to rephrase the entire terms and conditions of the project.
“Things are not that simple since there are legal issues involved here. We cannot simply say that we will cancel the project since that would entail legal complications,” he said, adding that the state government wants to see the project take off and is completed but as of now the Shillong Medical College is still a far cry.
When asked if the government had signed an agreement with a controversial firm, the Chief Minister said the firm was selected and the agreement was signed by the previous MUA Government.
On the status of the Tura Medical College, he said that the work on the project is still going on without elaborating further.
Earlier, Health Minister, AL Hek had informed that the KPC group had signed an agreement with the state government in 2012 for 33 years and the agreement will have to be renewed after every 33 years.
He further informed that the firm had earmarked a total amount of Rs 248 crore for the project when they had signed the agreement in 2012.
“The firm had agreed in principle to shift the site of Shillong Medical College to Umsawli from the original site. At the moment, we have 17 acres of land at Umsawli. But the Medical Council of India (MCI) has already specified that a minimum of 20 acres of land is required for setting up a medical college. We have requested the Urban Affairs Department to allot another 5 acres for the Shillong Medical College,” the Health Minister informed.
It may be mentioned that the original project site to set up the Shillong Medical was at the existing campus of the Reid Provincial Chest (TB) Hospital at Mawbah.
Hek had also informed that the existing TB Hospital at Umsawli had been converted into a Corona Care Centre adding that the RPCH will continue to function as before since the Shillong Medical College has not been shifted to a new site.
