Madanapalle MC: Project Started by YSRC Government Dragging

Tirupati: More than two years after the construction began, the Madanapalle Government Medical College in Annamayya district is yet to get set. In the absence of good hospitals, the people of the region are struggling with long journeys to access advanced medical care.

The YSR Congress government had claimed in 2024 that its medical college projects were nearing completion across the state.

The college’s construction began in June 2022 with a completion target of November 2024. The plan included a 420-bed teaching hospital, medical and nursing colleges, hostels, residential quarters and essential utilities like an oxygen plant and waste treatment unit.

By now, the main building’s structure is almost complete, while hospital blocks, internal fittings, and electrical works remain unaddressed.

For residents of Madanapalle and nearby mandals, the half-built structures on the 95.44-acre site near Arogyavaram meant administrative apathy to their cause. What was announced as a major healthcare project for the Rayalaseema region has not been able to fulfill its objectives.

With no major hospital in the vicinity, people continue to depend on Tirupati and Bengaluru for advanced medical treatment.

Notably, a fund of Rs 475 crore had been promised for the project during the YSRC term. It was envisaged as one among the 17 medical colleges planned across districts at a total cost of Rs 8,480 crore.

The funding model involved a loan from the NABARD, which covered 85 per cent of the expenditure through a low-interest loan. The state was to bear the remaining 15 per cent. Officials say the delay in releasing the state’s contribution led to payment backlogs to the contractor, which stalled the project.

The present government has not given much attention to the medical college project.

The national medical commission, which inspected the site on June 25, 2024, pointed out major shortcomings such as incomplete infrastructure, lack of equipment, and a 13 per cent faculty shortfall. It refused permission for admissions for both the 2024–25 and 2025–26 academic years.

The commission also noted that the adjoining district hospital had not been upgraded to serve as a teaching hospital.

The issue has now become a flashpoint between the ruling Telugu Desam and the opposition YSRC. TD MLA Shahjahan Basha, who visited the site recently, accused the previous government of financial irregularities. “Out of the Rs 65 crore released, work worth barely Rs 20 crore has been done. The construction was sub-standard. Cracks have appeared even before the buildings are occupied,” he said and sought an inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds.

Meanwhile, the YSRC continues to criticise the present government for its push to develop new medical colleges under the PPP model, arguing that healthcare should rather remain a public responsibility. But the undesirable condition of its own projects, like Madanapalle, has undercut this narrative, exposing gaps between political claims and on-ground realities.