CHENNAI: The Technical Evaluation Committee on Monday cleared the proposal to set up three more government medical colleges in three districts in the State.
According to a senior official, though no official communication has yet been received, the health department has been orally told that the committee has given clearance for the three new medical colleges, each at Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam and Krishnagiri.
However, the Executive Committee’s approval is final and it will be known after their meeting in New Delhi by next week, he said, adding, “if the colleges are approved, the State will be adding nine more government medical colleges and 1,350 MBBS seats in 2020-21.”
Meanwhile, another Health department official said, “We have also identified the lands for three medical colleges. Approximately `450 crore will be allotted for each college. Once the approval is given, we will begin the works”.
Only last month, the Union Health Ministry gave approval to set up six more government medical colleges each in Tirupur, the Nilgiris, Ramanathapuram, Namakkal, Dindigul and Virudhunagar districts.
The government has also sanctioned `100 crore for each college and released the orders in this regard. “We want the ambience of the colleges on a par with the institutions in developed countries,” said Health Minister C Vijayabaskar.
With this, the number of government medial colleges in Tamil Nadu will increase from 24 to 33. Each new medical college will start with 150 MBBS seats.