Coimbatore Medical College to get development funding of Rs 250 crore

Coimbatore Medical College (CMC) is expected to be funded with a heft amount of close to Rs 250 crore for developing the medical college. The news has been confirmed by the health minister Dr C Vijayabaskar. He also implied that the amount is a grant from the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The agency has chosen three medical college for development work and CMC is one of them. Simultaneously, an additional amount of Rs 1 crore has also been given by the state government to renovate the college auditorium.

Speaking on the occasion of the college's golden jubilee celebrations on Friday, which was marked by a series of cultural programs including song and dance performances, the minister said to TOI that Coimbatore should be proud to have a college like CMC in its city. "CMC has already achieved great heights by increasing the number of patients they treat and operate on every year," said the health minister.

In addition he implied that the state government is planning to develop the college further with the received amount. A special arch will be constructed at the college entrance in commemoration of its golden jubilee. Besides, the auditorium will become a modern hi-tech facility after renovation. It is the performance of CMC which has convinced JICA to invest for future development purpose. He further confirmed that JICA has offered help for development of 2 more colleges in the state.

Health indicators such as infant mortality rate and maternal mortality have come down under the AIADMK regime, said Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar to the Hindu at the golden jubilee celebration of the Coimbatore Medical College.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had recently announced in the Assembly that the Tamil Nadu Urban Health Care Project had been approved for implementation with the JICA assistance of Rs.1,634 crore. While it has been in the pipeline for a long while, and many deliberations have analysed the form and structure it would take, health managers cannot wait for it to get off the ground.

The project would cover 17 cities and 21 facilities and strengthen key tertiary institutions in metros, officials say.

It is also possibly the first time that the Japanese funding agency is venturing into the health care segment, the sources said. The project cost of Rs. 1,634 crore includes a loan component of Rs.1,388 crore (85 per cent) and a State share of Rs. 245.6 crore (15 per cent). The loan is for a period of 40 years with a grace period of 10 years at an interest rate of 0.3 percent. The implementation would be over a seven-year period.

The college was incepted in 1966 and recently celebrate its golden jubilee with events like medical exhibitions, seminars and educational programmes. The celebrations are likely to continue till September.