Odisha:Five new medical colleges, two to have upgraded hospitals.

Bhubaneshwar: Three new hospitals are to be built for new medical colleges coming up in the state at Balasore, Balangir and Puri. Out of the total of five to be initiated, the remaining two new institutions are meant to be attached to that the existing district headquarters hospitals (DHHs). These hospitals are to be upgraded as per MCI norms. A decision to this effect has been taken by both the union and state governments. The hospitals are targeted for completion in the next three months.

Construction of new medical colleges is underway.Earlier, all the five new medical colleges were meant to be attached to upgraded district headquarter hospitals.Centre approval for establishment of five new hospitals at Balasore, Koraput, Balangir, Baripada and Puri had been granted way back in 2014

All five medical colleges are to have a student intake of a 100 each and approximately budgeted for Rs '200 crore . This money is to be spent on upgradation of the DHHs to full-fledged medical college and hospital in each district.

Upgradation work on DHHs at Koraput and Baripad, as per MCI norms, has already been undertaken. However, it is not viable to upgrade the hospitals of the remaining three districts, said sources.

A high level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, has taken a unanimous decision to construct three new hospitals for medical colleges being built at Balasore, Puri, and Balangir revealed Health Secretary

Health Secretary Arti Ahuja said at a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, it was decided that separate hospitals will be constructed for the medical colleges at Balasore, Puri and Balangir. revealed Health Secretary ,Arti Ahuja.

“The Works Department will prepare the estimate for these new hospitals on and without turn-key basis. The estimate for equipment, instruments and furniture (EIF) will be prepared separately,” she said.

A decision has yet to be taken whether the work undertaken would be on a turn key basis, however, the Works Department has been asked to submit the estimate on turn-key basis, and also separate estimates for civil work and EIF, by September 30.

The government is wanting to start admissions in all the colleges by next year, construction work is supposed to be completed by March 2017.However the medical project can only be initiated after the MCI gives a nod to the infrastructure.

The Foundation stone for the medical college at Balasore was laid on October 28, 2014,by the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik., while those at Puri and Balangir were inaugurated on July 4 and August 30 last year. Faculty positions have also been created for these colleges.