SHILLONG, Jan 15: The abnormally-delayed Shillong Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) seems to be back on track with the state government allotting 50 acres of land in New Shillong Township (NST) for the ambitious project.
Health Minister James PK Sangma on Sunday said the “biggest hurdle” aka land acquisition for SMCH has been overcome.
“The chief minister was kind enough to provide 50 acres of land. The process of getting the land, demarcation and survey has taken time,” he said.
Admitting that the progress has been slower than expected, Sangma said, “It has been a little slow in terms of the time it has taken but things are now on track. Since the biggest hurdle of land has been taken care of other procedures will slowly take flight and we will be able to see the SMCH come up very soon.”
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma had, in 2017, laid the foundation stone for the medical college at TB Hospital in Mawbah five years after the MoU was signed with Kolkata-based firm Kali Pradip Chaudhuri Group. However, in 2018, the government decided to shift the location to Umsawli.
The government has already scrapped its agreement with the KPC Group.
The initial project cost was Rs 250 crore but it is likely to be escalated to around Rs 350-400 crore owing to the delay.
Govt maintaining Covid infrastructure: James
Talking about the Covid infrastructure created in the state, the Health minister maintained that those were created during the initial waves of Covid-19 to ensure their availability in case of a surge in cases.
“If any such situation arises it is very important to be prepared. We are ensuring that the infrastructure is maintained so that they are readily available to us,” Sangma said.
Informing that the Health department was monitoring the situation, he said, “It is very important that we learn from the lessons experienced during that time and we keep vigil and that is exactly what we are doing.”
“The Health department is ensuring that if Covid does come up or any other pandemic for that matter we are better prepared than we were,” he added.
It may be added here that the state government had faced criticism in the Assembly for spending over Rs 816 crore in the fight against Covid-19. The figure was last updated in September, 2022.
