Karnataka govt halts plan for medical colleges under PPP model

Following public outcry over the proposed plan to establish medical college hospitals under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, the state government has decided to keep it in abeyance.

Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil said that the government had been compelled to put its plans on hold in the face of stringent opposition to the proposal in many districts.

“People in Vijayapura and Tumakuru were vocal in expressing their opposition to the plan, and although we faced no issues in Kolar, the government has decided to put the plan on hold for now,” the minister said.

Heeding NITI Aayog’s recommendations to establish medical colleges under the PPP model, the state government had proposed to set up colleges in Vijayapura, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar, Tumakuru, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Bagalkot and Bengaluru Rural districts.

At a recent event in Vijayapura, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the government was applying the brakes on its plans to set up medical colleges under the PPP model.

He, however, was quick to reiterate the government’s commitment to set up state-run medical colleges in all districts. Incidentally, the people of Vijayapura had been the most vocal in expressing their opposition to the plan.

Patil was also quick to point out that it was the previous BJP government that had originally proposed setting up medical colleges under the PPP model.

“However, the Congress government is interested in setting up philanthropic hospitals,” said the minister, adding that a healthcare centre coming up near the National Institute for Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru would be one such facility.

“The Azim Premji Foundation will set up the hospital on a 10-acre land parcel that the government will provide. The foundation will bear the expenses for the infrastructure and other facilities at the 1,000-bed hospital, which will predominantly focus on organ transplantation. Only a nominal fee, such as that charged at the Jayadeva Institute for Cardiovascular Sciences, will be collected at the new hospital,” Patil said.