State to get ESIC college by December, says Kaul Singh

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
The state will have ESIC Medical College and Hospital at Nerchowk by December. This was stated by Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur on his arrival in the town after his heart surgery.
He said discussions were on and if proved fruitful, the Centre would hand over the under-construction medical college to the state government by this year end.
He said the Centre had agreed to wave off nearly Rs 550 crore already spent on the construction of the medical college, adding that the state government would pay nearly Rs 280 crore more, in installments in the next 10 years, to make the college functional.
The state government would operate the college under the self-finance scheme as it would incur an extra burden of nearly Rs 25 crore every year, he said.
He said the state government had requested the Medical Council of India (MCI) to increase the seats and start MBBS classes at the college from next year.
“If given permission, we will get 100 more MBBS seats. We are planning to reserve 15 seats for NRI candidates,” he said.
Efforts were on to start three other medical colleges sanctioned during the previous UPA government from next year, he said.
The foundation stone of the ESIC Medical College and Hospital was laid in 2009 and was to be made functional in 2011 with 40 per cent seats reserved for Himachalis. However, the incomplete college was inaugurated on March 5, 2014, by the then Union Minister of Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes.
Meanwhile, the Congress unit of the Drang block accorded a warm welcome to the minister on his arrival in the town after two months. The minister underwent a heart surgery at a private hospital in Mohali.
District Congress chief Puran Chand Thakur and Drang Congress chief Joginder Guleria were also present.
 
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