Mumbai: Maharashtra state has decided to put its private medical college graduates to serve in rural areas to solve the problem of scarcity of doctors in these regions and also to provide the doctors with experience. These students after those in Government colleges are to serve in rural health care centers and hospitals located in rural areas.

According to the Medical Education Minister, Girish Mahajan, a portal to ensure that medical and dental graduates serve in rural areas a portal is going to be set to keep a track. Students graduating from private medical colleges have to follow the same rule, the Minister added.

“This is a compulsion for government and civic–run colleges, so why not private colleges? I am going to make rural service compulsory for the state’s private colleges. This will solve the problem of doctors in rural areas and medicos will gain experience as well,” he stated.

A senior official revealed there to be 23 private medical colleges in the state, including dental colleges and they have 3,970 seats. “The rule states that students who do not serve in rural areas must pay a fine of Rs 15 lakh, Rs 50 lakh, and Rs 2.5 crore. But many students end up never stepping into a rural health care centers, or paying the fine,” added officials.

Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited is helping a public limited company, in developing a portal which shall possess all the details regarding bond services the official further stated. “The portal will have details of vacant positions in rural healthcare facilities. Graduates will have to apply online for the bond service, after which vacant positions will be allotted to students,” added a senior official, while speaking to the Free Press Journal.