The Centre has urged 14 States to accelerate utilisation of central funds and expedite completion of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals approved under Centrally Sponsored Scheme for early commencement of UG courses.
The concern over the slow progress of these projects was strongly highlighted by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as he reviewed them with health secretaries and directors (Medical Education) of 14 States through video conference on Thursday. A total of 157 new medical colleges have been sanctioned under this scheme since 2014, in three phases so far.
The States and Union Territories that participated in the review meeting were Andaman and Nicobar islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha and Punjab.
Mr. Bhushan urged the States to expedite the physical completion of projects to enable commencement of UG courses by academic session 2023-24.
“It was pointed out that since the scheme will conclude on 31st March 2024, hence all projects need to be completed in time. It was informed that a sum of ₹7,500 crores have been allotted for the schemes of Human Resources for Health (HRH) and Medical Education (ME) for financial year 2022-23,’’ said the release.
States were told that utilisation certificates have to be furnished without delay to enable the Centre to release balance funds. State administration was also advised to regularly review the progress and urgently update the Union Ministry portal.
States were advised to explore and use locally-relevant green technology options, and steel composite structures for the projects that are yet to start.
The Government of India had launched the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for “Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals” in January, 2014, with fund sharing between the Central government and States in the ratio of 90:10 for special category states and 60:40 for other states.
This scheme is being implemented in three phases – Phase-I (2014) with 58 medical colleges covering 13 Aspirational districts; Phase-II (2018) with 24 medical colleges in 6 Aspirational districts; and Phase-III (2019) with 75 Medical Colleges within 20 Aspirational districts.
