N.C. Prajapati, the principal of Government Medical College, Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, wears a worried look ahead of the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) impending inspection.
The college is facing derecognition as it is currently falling short of the norms set by the Central body that regulates medical education in India.
“There are a few deficiencies that need to be plugged. If the NMC gives us an adverse report, then the government’s construction agency should be held responsible,” said Mr. Prajapati, referring to the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiye Nirman Nigam (UPRNN), which began constructing the college in 2015-16.
Though 2021 was set as the deadline, only 60% of the construction has been completed over the past eight years. The NMC had given affiliation to the college on the condition that the pending work would be completed before its first batch of MBBS students graduates next year. However, the work has been stalled for over a year as the matter is before an arbitration tribunal.
A.K. Singh, assistant general manager, Electric Zone, Bareilly, UPRNN, said the college’s civil work was sanctioned in 2016, and awarded to Anil Kumar and Company. The contractor completed half the work by 2017, when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power by defeating the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Assembly poll.
“When the government changed, funds were not allocated for some time. The contractor then sent a revised estimate to the government, which was not sanctioned. The contractor then went into arbitration. As the civil work is pending, we are also unable to carry out the electrical work in the college,” Mr. Singh said.
‘Action needed’
The college is falling short of the NMC’s infrastructure norms as it lacks the required number of lecture halls, operation theatres, hostels, and a road, multi-purpose hall, and sewage treatment plant on campus. “We are not compromising on the quality of education and patient care, but we must meet these norms. I hope action is taken against those responsible for such laxity,” Mr. Prajapati said.
Mr. Prajapati and the District Magistrate of Badaun have sent several letters to the government seeking a quick resolution. “We are trying to solve the issue so that the work gets completed,” said Darban Singh Rana, assistant general manager, Bareilly Zone, UPRNN.
Meanwhile, the SP has accused the BJP government of “discrimination” as Badaun is its bastion. The Badaun Lok Sabha seat was among the seven won by the Opposition parties amid the Narendra Modi wave in 2014. In 2019, BJP’s Sanghmitra Maurya won the seat by a margin of less than 20,000 votes. In the 2022 Assembly poll, the SP won three out of the six seats in the district.
“The BJP government claims it has opened over 30 medical colleges, but look at the way it is treating colleges that were sanctioned and whose construction started during the SP regime. The government is showing discrimination in development work in Badaun for obvious reasons. The medical college is an example of this,” SP spokesman Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’ said.
