Controversy erupts over Govt Acquisition of CCM Medical College

Opposition parties including the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have alleged that the aim of acquiring the private medical college which is facing huge financial loss is to favour people associated with the institute, whose management includes members from a family in which Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's daughter is married.

Amidst all the tension, however, the State Government has tabled the bill before the Assembly to acquire Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College in Kachandur village of the district and State Health and Family Welfare Minister T S Singh Deo has urged that the immediate acquisition of the medical college is necessary for the interest of people.

Also Read: Acquisition Process for Chandulal Chandrakar Medical College Begins

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the Chandulal Chandrakar Medical College with a yearly intake of 150 MBBS seats was declared 'zero year' by the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI). The institute failed to get the MCI approval for 2019-20 after the medical council's team inspected the medical colleges' premises and found gross deficiencies.

Staring at an uncertain future due to prevailing gross deficiencies at their medical college which led to the de-recognition by the MCI, the students approached various governmental authorities seeking transfer to other medical colleges in a bid to save their career prospects. Subsequently, they filed a petition with the HC on the basis of the medical college's de-recognition and MCI report and High Court directed the state government to form a committee and draft a scheme for transferring the aggrieved MBBS students into other medical colleges.

Later, the management had expressed its difficulty in running the college and requested the government to take charge of the college.

In pursuance, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced confirming that the acquisition process of the medical college would commence soon and gradually the process of acquisition was initiated as well.

Also Read: Mortgage of govt leased land with regard to properties of Memorial Hospital: PIL in SC seeks CBI, SFIO to initiate probe

However, after a newspaper reported that the Congress government is to introduce a bill in the assembly to acquire the CCM Medical College, whose management team includes members from the family of CM's son-in-law, the row began. Opposition BJP on Tuesday alleged that it was aimed at "favouring" people associated with the institute.

Hitting out at the ruling Congress, senior BJP MLA Brijmohan Agrawal said the bill is an attempt to benefit people associated with the college. Asked about the media report, Agrawal termed the issue as "unique and strange" and said "it seems it is being done (referring to the proposed bill) to benefit people associated with the college. Otherwise, there are several colleges which have been facing losses and are they going to acquire it all?"

The former minister alleged that "earlier Medical Council of India (MCI) had registered an offence against CCMMC for forgery. In my knowledge, the college has a debt of over Rs 300 crore. In the proposed bill there is no mention of loan repayment and process to accommodate doctors and employees working there."

This proposed acquisition has put the state government and the CM in the dock, Agrawal claimed. "In the proposed bill, it has been mentioned that the college will be given Rs 140 crore per year but it is not clear for how long. A new medical college can be set up with Rs 140 crore", he was quoted saying by PTI.

Union minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also slammed the Baghel government over the issue. "Bhupesh Baghel is trying to buy his son-in-law's private college from government funds to save it. The state money is used for his son-in-law, a medical college that was accused of fraud by the Medical Council of India. The definition of who is salable and who is sustainable is now clear!," Scindia tweeted.

In the wake of the controversy, the state government issued a statement, saying the decision to acquire the medical college has been taken in the interest of people and students, and for speedy expansion of medical education.

The chief minister, in a series of tweets, denied the allegations of wrongdoing and favouritism, terming them as "baseless", and defended the government''s move to take over the college located in Durg district.

"Various speculations are being made on a news published on Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College. They all are baseless. This (the bill) is an attempt to save the future of a medical college and hundreds of students in the state. This will save the time of setting up a new medical college and every year the state will get 150 doctors," Baghel tweeted.

"As far as kinship (rishtedari) and vested interests are concerned, I want to tell the people of my state that Bhupesh Baghel is accountable to them and he has always done politics with transparency. There will always be transparency in the government. Once the deal is done, everything will be clear," he said.

The CM said his government is guided only by public interest. "This controversy has emerged from imagination. I challenge this. If there is a question of public interest, the government will also buy a private medical college and (steel) plant at Nagarnar. We are in favour of the public sector and will continue to remain so. We are not selling public property like them (apparently referring to the BJP)," said Baghel.

The draft of the bill to acquire CCMMC Durg was approved in the cabinet meeting on July 20 and it will be tabled in the assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ravindra Chaubey said in a release.

The monsoon session of the assembly is underway and is scheduled to conclude on July 30. "The state government has decided to acquire the college in the interest of the people and students with an aim of speedy expansion of medical education. With this, a ready-made health infrastructure could be acquired in the state. Usually, it takes around Rs 500 crore and a lot of time to build the infrastructure of a medical college," Chaubey said.

With the acquisition of the 150-seat college recognised by the MCI, the people of the state will be able to get the benefit of one more government medical college at half the cost, the Congress minister added.

Meanwhile, amidst all the tension, the bill has been tabled before the Assembly on Wednesday. As per the bill titled as Chhattisgarh Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College, Durg (Acquisition) Bill, 2021, the state government will appoint a special officer to conduct a valuation of all the movable and immovable properties of the college for payment against acquisition and the payable amount considering the inevitability of the acquisition would be double of the actual valuation amount.

No other amount will be payable to any living or legal person for any property, the draft said. The government shall not be liable to any liability pending on its management towards any living or legal person prior to acquisition. The liabilities of the college prior to vesting in the government shall continue to be the liabilities of its former owners and may be recovered from them by the lenders through normal procedures of law, it said.

Any person who had been serving in the college before vesting in the government will not make any claim for job to the government after acquisition. Any payment or salary due to such a person will not be made by the government and they can claim from the former owners, a provision of the bill said.

Discussion on the bill is likely to take place in the House in the next two days. Briefing about the objectives of the bill, the health minister said that Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College was established in the year 2013 and many students are already studying there. Singh Deo said the present owners of the college had requested the state government to take over the institute in view of their financial difficulties. It is necessary in the public interest to take over the medical college immediately.

The minister said the acquisition of this college will add a financial burden of about Rs 140 crore to the state exchequer every year.