Panel Wants Rs.1,750 Crore of Public Funds for Medical Colleges, Not Statue
Dr. Venkateswarlu questioned the rationale behind now proposing a Rs.1,750-crore statue, arguing that the amount could be used to complete the seven medical colleges under construction.
Vijayawada: The Government Medical Colleges Protection Committee has requested the NDA coalition regime to divert ₹1,750 crore of public funds proposed for a mega statue for people-centric works, particularly healthcare and education.
Addressing a media conference at Guntur on Sunday, the committee members asked the government to drop its plans to construct a 600-foot, 3,500-tonne bronze statue of late N.T. Rama Rao near Neerukonda in the capital region. Instead, it proposed that the money be used for completing the pending seven government medical colleges, which could be named after NTR.
“This would be a lasting tribute to NTR, as these hospitals will serve a public purpose,” state convener of the committee Dr. Ala Venkateswarlu said.
He recalled that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had earlier criticised the construction of a lavish palace at Rushikonda by former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He quoted Naidu saying two medical colleges could have been built with the ₹500 crore spent on the Rushikonda palace.
Dr. Venkateswarlu questioned the rationale behind now proposing a ₹1,750-crore statue, arguing that the amount could be used to complete the seven medical colleges under construction. He referred to courts rejecting a similar attempt to build an MGR statue with public funds in Tamil Nadu.
Former MLC and Jana Vignana Vedika state president K.S. Lakshman Rao said the coalition government has borrowed over ₹3 lakh crore in 18 months and is paying more than ₹7,000 crore monthly as interest. In such circumstances, he said, funds should be spent on essential needs like education and healthcare.
Jana Chaitanya Vedika state president Vallamreddy Lakshmana Reddy reminded the government about NTR’s legacy of providing rice at ₹2 per kg. He said allocating funds to education, healthcare, literacy, farmers’ support, and price stabilisation would be a true tribute to NTR.
Dalit Bahujan Front founder Korivi Vinay Kumar advocated super-specialty hospitals in backward areas, along with skill development, employment generation and farmer-support infrastructure, all named after NTR.
