Patna HC asks Bihar government to explain delay over making new medical colleges, hospitals functional

The high court directed the state government to submit to it full details of the development achieved so far towards making these four medical colleges and hospitals functional.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

PATNA: Irked over the delay in making four upcoming medical colleges in Bihar functional, Patna High Court on Monday asked the state government to explain the reasons and state the steps taken to expedite work.

While hearing a PIL on the matter, A Bench of Chief Justice Mukesh R Shah and Justice Ravi Ranjan expressed displeasure at the slow construction work going on for the proposed medical colleges and hospitals at Madhepura, Samastipur, Chapra and Purnea.

While work on the four institutions started through a collaboration between the Centre and the state government in 2015, the required construction work is in progress only in Madhepura. While the building for the college at Madhepura, named Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Medical College and Hospital, has been ready, construction of the hospital there is going on.

Tenders for the buildings of the medical colleges and hospitals in Chapra and Purnea have been floated after suitable land was found for them recently, the court was told by additional advocate general Prabhat Kumar Verma. A search for land for the institution in Samastipur is still on.

“Where are the buildings for these institutions? Funds have been made available and even posts of employees are sanctioned. But when will the construction of buildings completed?” asked the Bench.

The high court directed the state government to submit to it full details of the development achieved so far towards making these four medical colleges and hospitals functional. The matter was fixed for further hearing on September 17.

Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey had said recently that the academic session of the Madhepura institution would start from next year. The institution would have an ultra-modern 500-bed hospital. The health department has created 828 posts of employees for this institution and floated tenders for procurement of the medical equipment, Pandey had said.

Health department deputy secretary Dr Ashok Kumar Yadav has already been appointed as the principal of the Madhepura institution while Dr Atul Mallik of Bhagalpur Medical College and Hospital has been named as the superintendent of the upcoming institution.
 

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