A ₹400-crore master plan proposed for the development of the Government Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattom in Kozhikode has been finally submitted to the State government, years after the idea to develop the institution into international standards was put forward by the authorities.
According to sources, the proposal was submitted in July, and it is now with the Directorate of Health Services. The development works are planned to be taken up in four phases.
But the real catch is this. The first phase of works will require ₹100 crore as per the detailed project report (DPR). It is not yet clear how the government is going to raise funds for the purpose considering the prevailing financial crunch. Earlier, the plan was to allocate funds under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. Now, it is learnt that there is a move to include it in a project sponsored by the Union government. The hospital authorities are hopeful that a solution could be found soon.
Once it is approved, the master plan is expected to change the face of the 151-year-old institution set up in 1872 as the ‘Lunatic Asylum of Calicut’ to rehabilitate mentally ill men from the British Indian Army. The first phase includes construction of an administrative block, outpatient block, inpatient and outpatient paediatric psychiatry block for children, and a family ward for men and women. The other facilities planned are a canteen, toilet block, and classrooms and auditorium for students of DNB course, a postgraduate master’s degree in psychiatry. The works are expected to get completed in two years. A sewage treatment plan is among the facilities to be set up in the second phase.
A trust was formed in 2016 to implement the master plan. Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation was appointed as consultant for the project, and the DPR was prepared by Salem-based Mukesh Associates. Of late, the mental health centre has been in news for wrong reasons such as staff shortage, poor infrastructure, and lack of proper security steps. There have been reports of inmates running away from the facility too.
