Patna: Bihar Government has failed to get 3 new medical colleges established due to administrative lapse and negligence by the concerned officers. Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the Central Government had proposed setting up 58 new medical colleges across the country, 3 of which were to be setup in Bihar which included Samastipur, Chapra and Purnia.
According to a report in Times of India, the Union Government wrote to Bihar’s principal secretary (health) in this regard in February 2014. A reminder followed in March 2014. In October 2014, Medical Council of India asked Bihar controller of examination (medical education) to submit few crucial documents related to the new medical colleges. Later, two consecutive reminders were issued by MCI to the State Government, but no documents were submitted.
On January 13, MCI dropped the plan to setup the 3 medical colleges in Bihar upon failure of State Government to act within stipulated time.
Under the scheme, the cost of establishing medical colleges was estimated to be Rs. 189 crores, to be divided between Central and State Government in the ratio of 75:25. The new medical colleges would have been attached with district/ referral hospitals in the underserved districts of the country.
Bihar at present has 10 Government and 4 Private Medical Colleges, which have a combined intake of around 1000, but this number is inadequate for meeting the demand of medical professionals in the state considering its population.
The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) aims at correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country. It envisages setting up of AIIMS-like institutes and upgradation of existing Government Medical Colleges/ Institutions in various parts of the country.