In the first major step towards setting up five medical colleges in the state, the J&K Government has acquired land for three, while negotiations are on for acquiring land for two more.
Government sources said the land for the medical colleges had been acquired by the Medical Education Department at Baramulla and Anantnag in the Kashmir region and Rajouri in the Jammu region. The land for the two proposed medical colleges in Kathua and Doda districts has yet not been acquired.
The Centre had sanctioned five medical colleges in J&K in February 2014, but the previous government failed to acquire the land for the colleges.
The PDP-BJPgovernment restarted the process after coming to power and has managed to acquire the land for the three colleges so far.
The official sources said the process was on to acquire land for the other two colleges.
“The acquiring of the land is a prerequisite for taking up the release of money with the Government of India,” said a senior official in the Health and Medical Education Department.
“We will soon write to the Government of India for release of funds so as to take up the construction work,” he added.
According to the Medical Council of India guidelines, 200 kanals are required around an associated hospital for setting up of a medical college.
“In case, there is no land available around the district or associated hospital, the Centre has allowed that the land for the college can be acquired within the 10-km radius of the hospital,” the official said.
“While in Baramulla and Doda, the land was acquired on the district hospital premises, in Anantnag, the land was acquired near to the district hospital.”
The official said each college would have an intake capacity of 50 students at the undergraduate level.
The Centre had worked a cost of Rs 189 crore per medical college. Of this, Rs 110 crore is for setting up the infrastructure and Rs 79 crore is for men and machinery.
