Bhubaneswar: Academic sessions at the proposed medical college and hospitals at Bolangir, Balasore and Puri are expected to start from the next academic year (2018-19). Sources said Sunday that the state government was targeting completion of construction of the new medical colleges by March but classes can be started only in the next academic year as existing district headquarters hospitals do not meet Medical Council of India (MCI) norms for them to function as medical colleges, too.
Sources said the colleges can start functioning once the construction of separate teaching hospitals is completed.
Construction of two medical colleges — at Baripada and Koraput — with 100 seats each has already been completed and the MCI has visited them once. The team is likely to inspect the hospitals again next March.
The government has already appointed deans and principals for both colleges and the process of appointment of superintendents is under way. A requisition for recruitment of 58 assistant professors in different disciplines has also been sent to the Orissa Public Service Commission.
Sources said additional district medical officers of DHH Koraput and Baripada have been declared as deputy superintendents for the respective medical colleges. The collectors of Koraput and Mayurbhanj have been requested to fill the non-teaching posts at the colleges soon.
The government has 9 medical colleges in the pipeline, of which five — Koraput, Baripada, Bolangir, Balasore and Puri — are being developed with support from the Central government, while two are being developed by Central PSUs. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will establish the college at Sundergarh while Mahanadi Coalfield Limited will establish the college at Talcher, sources said.
To make all the five college functional, the government has created 600 teaching posts and 405 non-teaching posts. Till December, the Centre has released `170 crore against `506 crore while the state government has released `271.16 crore under Central Sponsored Plan and `469.78 crore under State Plan. Of this `534.71 crore has been spent so far, sources said.
Besides, the proposed medical college at Keonjhar will be set up using District Mineral Fund and Vedanta would fund for the medical college at Bhawanipatna. The government identified 40.12 acres for the medical college at Keonjhar and 40 acres for college at Bhawanipatna and they are under construction.
The Keonjhar medical college is estimated to cost `301.05 crore and the District Mineral Foundation Trust Board has already sanctioned `55 crore for the project. The government is to sign an MoU with Vedanta to implement the Kalahandi college once the model code of conduct currently in force for panchayat elections is lifted.
Once all the colleges start functioning, sources said, the state would be able to resolve the shortage of doctors.
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