Slow progress in the construction of the proposed medical college at Raichur has raised doubts about completion of the project in time. Members of the Medical Council of India would visit the site in February, and analyze if would be possible to recruit students in the forthcoming academic year.
The State Government had proposed the launch of six new medical colleges in six different regions, including Hassan, Belgaum, Bidar, Shimoga, Mandya and Raichur. Projects at Hassan and Belgaum are nearing completion according to official sources.Problems associated with the dissipation of funding have been accounted for the delay. The State Government had initially allocated a sum of Rs. 20 crore for each of the projects. While Rs. 4.50 crore has been released in three installments at Raichur, execution of civil work worth Rs. 6.42 crore has only been documented so far. Another Rs 1.50 crore is yet to be distributed.
The public works department officials lack the authority to mobilize funds in advance for construction and equipment of the medical college. The finance department governs this to a large extent, which limits the quick financial access. Moreover, the poor quality of the road that connects the medical college and the main road was overlooked during planning. It is estimated that a minimum of Rs 25 lakhs would be required for renovation of the same.
The concerned officials had even requested the local MLA’s to help in the mobilization process attempts of which ended up in vain. A three fourth of the building is still devoid of a roof and the men’s and women’s hostel has not progressed much beyond the basement level.
The medical college is hoped to attract a lot of students and patients owing to its ideal location between the district hospital and the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Super Speciality Hospital. It is anticipated that the change in the existing political scenario would accelerate the construction work to enable completion within a reasonable time.
