With Center rebuffing proposal for 2nd AIIMS, Odisha decides to run NTPC Medical College Hospital

The Health and Family Welfare Department issued an order on 5th July, appointing the district medical officer (Medical Services) and superintendent of Sundargarh district headquarters hospital (DHH) Dr PK Sahu as the additional superintendent-cum-nodal officer of the MCH. Previously, on June 25, the Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) secured a nod from the department to file an application with the National Medical Commission (NMC) for the establishment of the MCH from the academic year 2022-23.

The MCH has been a long-sought dream of the state ever since NTPC announced it in October 2010. However, there has been an unexpected delay in initiating the project. The State government and NTPC signed an MoU regarding the project in December 2013. The agreement clarified that NTPC will be responsible for establishing the MCH infrastructure while it will be run by the government.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation in 2014, and the MCH was supposed to be operational from 2016-17 academic sessions. However, the project got delayed and after its completion in 2020, the facility was used as a COVID hospital. In November last year, the then Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy approached the Centre with a proposal of constructing the second AIIMS, reports the daily. He informed that the MCH will need a budget of `418 crore, and it has provisions for 500 beds and 100 MBBS seats.

Times of India had earlier reported, the authorities took note of the fact that one AIIMS is situated at Bhubaneswar, the capital city which already provides necessary health services to the region. Moreover, many of the major hospitals are situated within a 40km radius of the capital city right from Cuttack up to Khurda. The top healthcare institutions are concentrated in one region.

As per a recent media report by The Indian Express, BJP MP from Sundargarh Jual Oram seemed to hint that the State's recommendation for a second AIIMS at Sundargarh might be a political decision. He also informed that MCHs in Odisha are in deplorable condition. He further added that if the state expresses its inability in running the MCH then center will certainly consider taking over it. The Chief district medical and public health officer Dr SK Mishra informed that the process of making all the appointments including that of principal, deans and other staff in the MCH is most likely to start from the next week.