It will be a 100-seat medical college which will operate within the premises of the Deen Dayal Upadhayay hospital. The government also plans to increase the capacity of the BSA Medical College, which is 100 seats right now.
Dr Vasanth Kumar, the additional secretary to the Chief Minister and also a special project officer of the BSA Medical College, pointed out the importance of expanding the city’s infrastructure and also spoke of the Delhi government’s plans in these regards.
Vasanth Kumar was involved in the process from the drawing board till its construction. Dr Kumar said: “There is a need to develop the infrastructure for medical education in the city and this experience shows us how projects like these can be implemented quickly.”
Dr Kumar also spoke about land in Dwarka being purchased from the Delhi Development Authority with the objective to construct a university in the future.
Dr Kumar also emphasised that the present aim was to expand the capacity of the BSA Medical College from 100 to 150 and eventually reach 300 students. “The hostel facility for the college is still not developed, we have to improve the hostel facilities for the college.” The BSA still has several hurdles to overcome, including the shortage of faculty members and ensuring that they are of a high standard.
Speaking to Millennium Post, Dr Achal Gulati, director and principal of BSA Medical College said: “We are closely working with the government to recruit quality professors for the college and are trying to make them work on a permanent basis, rather than a contractual one.”
Acknowledging that there was a shortage of medical professors in the city, Satyendar Jain mentioned that the government was taking steps towards bridging this gap.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, evoking a few smiles, had this to say on Sunday: “It took 60 years for Delhi to get a new medical college, I hope it will not take another 60 years for the city to get another one”.