Alappuzha: When the Alappuzha government medical college is languishing for want of funds, the state government has shown undue generosity towards the Haripad medical college project on the PPP model, for which Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had laid the foundation stone on May 12 last year. The project is the brainchild of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala in his home constituency of Haripad.
Putting a liability of Rs 300 crore on the state exchequer, an order issued by Mr K. Ellangovan secretary, health and family welfare, on December 17 last says the government would repay the loan amount sanctioned by the NABARD for the project.
The order (G.O (MS) No. 295/2015/H&FWD) accessed by DC in clause V that “the hospital complex in connection with the project would be built using the loan assistance of NABARD that would be repaid by the government.”
The government will acquire the land for the hospital and college and hand it over to the newly-formed company ‘Kerala Medical infrastructure development Company Ltd’ (INFRAMED) in which the government has 26 percent stake.
A 100-bed pay ward and laboratory complex would be constructed by INFRAMED which would stay as standalone profit centre. The order also says that in addition to the company, a society has also been set up as Kerala Institute for Medical Education and Research (KIMED) that has been facilitated with 10.1173 hectares of government land for 99 years.
The society would run the college and collect the fees from the students as an independent authority. Mr Gopakumar Mukandan, a social activist, criticised the government for repaying NABARD loan for a PPP project. “Why can’t this fund be used for the welfare of government medical college, Vandanam, just a few km from the Haripad project site?” he asked. Mr P.V. Joseph, district president,
KSSP, said that the half-a-century old TD Medical College was no longer in the government’s priority list. Instead, it was interested to aid the private medical college, he said. Earlier, the doctors of Alappuzha medical college hospital and KSSP had protested against the move for setting up a medical college without resolving the basic issues of Alappuzha MCH.
