Meghalaya: Shillong Medical College project site to shift to New Shillong Township

SHILLONG

Kolkata based firm, Kali Pradip Chaudhuri (KPC) Group which had signed an agreement with the State Government for development of the Shillong Medical College under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode has agreed to shift the project site to Umsawli in New Shillong Township.

“The firm has agreed in principle to shift the site of Shillong Medical College to Umsawli from the original site. At the moment, we have 17 acres of land at Umsawli. The Medical Council of India (MCI) has already specified that a minimum of 20 acres of land is required for setting up of a medical college. We have requested the Urban Affairs department to allot another 05 acres for the Shillong Medical College,” Health and Family Welfare Minister, Alexander Laloo Hek told reporters here today.

It may be mentioned that the original project site to set up the Shillong Medical was at the existing campus of the Reid Provincial Chest Hospital (RPCH) at Mawbah.

Meanwhile, Hek informed that the existing TB Hospital at Umsawli has been converted into a Corona Care Centre, adding that the RPCH will continue to function as before since they have not shifted the Shillong Medical College to a new site.

According to Health and Family Welfare Minister, the Kolkata based firm had signed an agreement with the Government in 2012 for 33 years and after the agreement will have to renew after every 33 years. He further informed that the firm had earmarked a total amount of ₹ 248 crore to spend on the project.

Earlier, the CSWO had strongly opposed the handing over of the Medical College on PPP mode to the KPC Group headed by Kali Pradip Chaudhuri/Chaudhury, who is alleged to have racketeering cases in California and against whom a FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) case has been registered last year by the ED (Enforcement Directorate).

(Edited by Gabriel Momin)