Centre’s injustice towards Telangana continues

Hyderabad: The Centre’s scheme to establish new medical colleges across all districts continues to remain elusive for Telangana. The lack of financial support from union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to establish medical colleges has led to lot of resentment in Telangana, even as the State government, despite no financial assistance, is making […]

Hyderabad: The Centre’s scheme to establish new medical colleges across all districts continues to remain elusive for Telangana. The lack of financial support from union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to establish medical colleges has led to lot of resentment in Telangana, even as the State government, despite no financial assistance, is making all out attempts to start eight new medical colleges from this academic year i.e. 2022-23.

Under the ‘Centrally Sponsored scheme for establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’, the Government of India had sanctioned 157 new medical colleges for almost all other States, except for Telangana.

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On Friday, replying to a question raised by Rajya Sabha MP Saptagiri Ulaka from Odisha on establishing new medical colleges in the country, union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar released the list of States that received permission to start medical colleges. Telangana is missing in the list.

The MOHFW administers a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for ‘Establishment of new Medical Colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’ with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college. Under the Scheme, 157 new medical colleges have been approved in three phases and 72 are already functional, the reply from Dr Pawar said.

In 2014, just after bifurcation, Telangana had four medical colleges with 700 MBBS seats. Later, new medical colleges in Siddipet, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Suryapet were established, which increased the MBBS seats to 1640.

Senior health officials have said that by August/ September, when the new academic year starts, Telangana will have permission from the National Medical Commission (NMC) to establish eight more medical colleges that will add 1200 more MBBS seats in government teaching hospitals.

Despite lack of support from MOHFW, in this year’s budget (2022-23), the Telangana government
announced establishing medical colleges in all the districts with a cost of Rs.1,000 crore. For this academic year, eight medical colleges will be established in Asifabad, Bhupalpally, Vikarabad, Sircilla, Jangaon, Kamareddy, Karimnagar and Khammam.

In 2023, the remaining medical colleges will come up at Medak, Medchal, Ranga Reddy, Mulugu, Warangal, Narayanpet, Gadwal and Yadadri.