Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave in-principle approval to set up a new government medical college with an intake capacity of 100 seats at SAS Nagar (Mohali) in order to address the critical shortage of medical specialists while giving a boost to medical education in the state.This will be the first of the five new medical colleges that the Congress had promised in its poll manifesto, apart from upgradation of infrastructure, facilities and manpower in the existing medical colleges.The Chief Minister’s approval was announced by an official spokesperson after a meeting to review the functioning of medical and dental colleges in the state.The state government will soon forward a detailed proposal in this regard to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.The proposed 200-bedded hospital-cum-medical college would be established over an area of 20 acres at a cost of nearly Rs.190 crore, of which 60% share would be contributed by the Government of India, with the remaining 40% to be borne by the state government.
The recurring expenditure for maintenance and upkeep of the upcoming medical college would be Rs.45 crore annually, which would be exclusively borne by the state government.The new medical college would have a faculty of six professors, 14 associate professors, 18 assistant professors, 17 tutors, 24 senior residents and 25 junior residents in various disciplines, including Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pharmacology, Orthopedics, Anesthesia, Forensic Medicine etc., the spokesperson added.With the establishment of the new college at Mohali, the total number of government colleges in the state will go up to four.The Chief Minister suggested setting up of medical colleges in Punjab’s interiors to reach out to students across the state.He also informed the meeting that several industrialists had shown interest in setting up medical colleges and facilities in the state and his government was actively pursuing the same.