Government Medical College to be set up in Kapurthala

Chandigarh

The Centre has given its approval for the establishment of a new Government Medical College at Kapurthala after a request by the Punjab Government.

The existing local Civil Hospital would also be upgraded, a press release by the Punjab Government said.

The letter according approval has been received by the state government from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, according to an official spokesperson.

As per the communiqué, the new GMC would be set up at a cost of Rs 325 crore, of which Rs 195 crore, i.e. 60 per cent share, would be incurred by the Centre.

The remaining 40 per cent to the tune of Rs 130 crore would be contributed by the Punjab Government as the state’s share for the college being set up under a centrally sponsored scheme for establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals.The Centre has also cleared a proposal for up-gradation of the Civil Hospital, thereby enhancing its bed strength from existing 220 to 500, with the latest medical infrastructural facilities added to the hospital, the release said.

The spokesperson disclosed that the state government has already identified about 11 acres of land to establish the college at a distance of 1.5 km from the local civil hospital.

Apart from the sum of Rs 325 crore to be spent on infrastructure, Rs 50 crore has been set aside for installation of the requisite medical equipment in the college.

Punjab Government had taken up with the Centre the setting up a Government Medical College and sprucing up the infrastructure of Civil Hospital, Kapurthala, to mark the historic celebrations of 550th birth anniversay of Guru Nanak Dev.

The upcoming GMC is the first-of-its-kind in the Doaba region, with an intake capacity of 100 seats, and would be instrumental in providing quality healthcare and diagnostic services, besides giving impetus to medical education and research in the region.

Notably, there are three Government Medical Colleges already functioning in the state — in Amritsar, Faridkot and Patiala.

Another GMC is being set up at SAS Nagar Mohali, and the fifth has now been sanctioned for Kapurthala.