Maharashtra govt to take Rs 4,000 crore loan to set up new medical colleges in 12 districts

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to set up new medical colleges in 12 districts by taking a loan of Rs 4000 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The decision was taken during the meeting of the Medical Education department called by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, which was also attended by the representatives of the ADB. 

There are around 12 districts in the state including, Jalgaon, Satara, Alibaug, Sindhudurg, Usmanabad, Parbhani, Amravati, Ratnagiri, Gadhchiroli, Bhandara, and Ambernath which don't have a medical college. 

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The medical education minister Girish Mahajan said, "The decision was taken at the meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today. There are 23 government medical colleges Of which 13 are under the Rest of the Maharashtra Region, 6 under the Vidarbha Region, and 4 under the Marathwada Region. In addition, four are under construction. The proposed new colleges will be established in 12 districts without any college. These colleges will be developed from the Rs 4,000 crore ADB loan which will be available to the state government in phases. The loan will also be used to further strengthen the existing medical colleges and hospitals." Further, they are also availing of the loan from the International Finance Corporation. 

Stating that the work related to this would be beginning very soon, Mahajan said, "Not a single medical college has been allowed in the last two and half years. Citizens will benefit from government medical colleges rather than private ones."

As per a media report in the Republic world, the proposal for taking the loan was approved in the last 2-3 years, however, no progress was made towards creating the necessary infrastructure and the associated works due to the shortage of funds.

Mahajan said, "The ADB will provide about $500mn (Rs 4,000 Crore) loan for setting up medical colleges in Jalgaon, Satara, Alibaug, Sindhudurg, Usmanabad, Parbhani, Amravati, Ratnagiri, Gadhchiroli, Bhandara, Ambernath and Nashik Super Speciality hospital. The state will soon complete the technical procedures to receive the funds."

During the meeting, Fadnavis emphasized on providing good and affordable medical facilities to everyone in the state. He further directed the medical education department to prepare a plan to set up a medical college and hospital in every district in the next two years.

Mahajan told the Free Press Journal, "The financial and technical assistance of the Asian Development Bank will be used for the construction and implementation of the proposed medical colleges in the selected districts and the upgradation of the respective hospitals. The DCM hoped that ADB will cooperate with the state government and provide funds early so that the construction work of the proposed new medical colleges will start in the next 6 to 7 months."

Stating that the project would be completed within a target period of 2 years, Mahajan said, "The funds have to be made available in the next two years. Jalgaon was announced as a medical hub, however, no concrete action was taken to make it a reality. During our government, the process of tendering, releasing work orders, groundbreaking was done but not a single brick has been installed in the last 2-3 years."

According to a senior official, the department has prepared a plan for the year 2030 for creating medical facilities. The department, during the first phase, introduced a public-private partnership strategy for setting up medical colleges. With the help of the International Financing Corporation, a super specialty hospital is being constructed in Nagpur along with a government medical college at Aurangabad and Latur. 

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