Punjab CM orders release of Rs 69 cr to upgrade premier medical colleges

Chandigarh: In order to provide quality treatment and diagnostic facilities to the people in the medical colleges, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ordered immediate release of nearly Rs 69 crore to give a facelift to premier medical colleges of the state.

Chairing a review meeting of the Medical Education and Research department here, Mann said, “Augmenting the facilities in these medical colleges of the state was the need of the hour to ensure quality treatment and diagnostic facilities to the people”.

“To equip these medical colleges with hi-end and world class machinery is imperative so that they can serve the patients in a better manner,” he said, according to an official statement here.

The chief minister asked the Medical Education department to immediately release Rs 68.98 crore to the four medical colleges in the state to upgrade the facilities.

He further said that Rs 26.53 crore should be released to Government Medical College Amritsar, Rs 28.51 crore to Government Medical College Patiala, Rs 9.43 crore to Dr B R Ambedkar Institute of Medical Sciences SAS Nagar (Mohali) and Rs 4.51 crore to PGI Satellite Centre, Ferozepur.

“These funds should be duly utilised for development works in the medical colleges along with procuring latest machinery and equipment,” he said.

Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary Alok Shekhar, Principal Secretary Health Kumar Rahul, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Dr Ravi Bhagat were among those present in the meeting.