BENGALURU: Discussions are on at the health and education ministerial level to take over hospitals, schools and colleges run by the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
GBA schools are known for poor quality education, inadequate infrastructure, staff shortage and delayed salary payment, and hospitals for poor management, lack of medical equipment and infrastructure.
If GBA hospitals and educational institutions are brought under the health and education departments, they would be streamlined for better administration and effective management, and providing better services.
While such considerations were there earlier, there was no significant progress in that direction. Now, with the GBA’s Cadre and Recruitment (C & R) rules awaiting government approval, discussions are happening at the ministerial level, according to a top GBA official. He confirmed that Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa are part of these discussions.
He said GBA-run schools, colleges and hospitals need a significant number of staff compared to other departments and that their transfer would cut down this burden. The five corporations under GBA run more than 150 schools and colleges.
GBA looks after 242 namma clinics, 143 primary health centres, two general hospitals, six referral hospitals and 27 maternity hospitals. If they are taken over by the health and education departments, the corporations would save crores of rupees and they can focus on developing civic infrastructure and the city’s development, the official said.
On whether GBA is willing to forego these hospitals and schools, he said, “GBA is neither in favour of the takeover nor against it. If the government feels that the hospitals and educational institutions under GBA can be handled better by its departments, we are ready to give them up.”
He said after the ministers’ nod, a final call on it will be taken by DCM DK Shivakumar, who is also Bengaluru Development Minister.