MUMBAI: The state’s medical education department (MED) is actively looking for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to support the construction of medical college buildings and hostels. The state and the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) are in the final stages of discussions with a corporate to build a hostel in Nashik. If successful, this arrangement would be the first of its kind.
With a dozen colleges in the pipeline and limited funds, the MED started seeking CSR tie-ups recently, besides working towards securing a substantial loan from the Asian Development Bank.
Medical education minister Girish Mahajan said the state has increased medical seats by multiple counts in the last nine years, and now plans to build new colleges in 12 districts. But huge funds are required to build the upcoming colleges and hostels to accommodate a growing number of students. He had previously highlighted the existing shortage of at least 10,000 hostel seats in the state.
About Rs 18,000 crore is estimated to be required for the construction and operationalisation of these colleges by 2030. The state government has already initiated the process of borrowing Rs 8,000 crore from the Asian Development Bank. According to a source from the department, the initial plan is to allocate a portion of the borrowed funds for constructing the new colleges in different districts, while the remaining amount would be utilized for upgrading the existing colleges.
As part of its attempts to explore corporate funding for building new medical colleges and hostels, the state is placing significant hope on a potential deal involving the MED, MUHS, and the Damania Foundation. The foundation has expressed interest in supporting the state’s efforts to establish hostel infrastructure for the first postgraduate college to be operated by MUHS, which is currently under development in Nashik. “It will be a unique arrangement and one of its kind to strengthen the government medical infrastructure,” said a Mantralaya official. “We hope other corporates are encouraged to join hands,” the officer added. “The cost of building each college is estimated to be in the range of Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore, and the state doesn’t have that kind of money. We are not seeking monetary contributions from corporates but rather their assistance in constructing infrastructure in compliance with the norms set by the National Medical Commission.”
The official added that the department’s annual budget of Rs 2000 crore will not be majorly helpful in this regard. Notably, several prominent and long-standing colleges in the state, such as Sir JJ Hospital in Byculla and BJ Medical College in Pune, were constructed with the assistance of philanthropic contributions. Sir Jamshetjee Jejeebhoy generously donated Rs 1 lakh towards the establishment of JJ Hospital in 1843. JJ Hospital has recently completed the necessary procedures that will enable them to receive significant CSR funds. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors, representing resident doctors, has repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the inadequate increase in hostel capacity compared to the expansion of medical colleges. Despite the number of seats in government medical colleges rising from 2,960 to 4,750 between 2017 and 2022, the corresponding increase in hostel seats has not kept pace with this growth, a doctor said.
Article Credits: Times of India
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