Heeding to protests, Karnataka temporarily halts proposal to start medical colleges in PPP mode

Following stiff opposition, the State government has decided to temporarily halt the proposal to start medical colleges in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode in the State.

Project reports had already been submitted to the government to build medical colleges in the PPP mode in Vijayapura, Tumakuru, and Kolar districts. However, there was opposition in Tumakuru and large-scale protests in Vijayapura demanding that the PPP-mode college project be scrapped and a government medical college be sanctioned for the district.

“The previous BJP government had announced that it would build PPP-mode medical colleges in the State, based on a NITI Aayog recommendation. However, there has been stiff opposition. So, it has been decided to temporarily halt these projects. If the elected representatives and the public agree, an appropriate decision will be taken at that time,” said Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil.

According to the NITI Aayog report, it is practically impossible for the Union and State governments to bridge the gap in medical education with their limited resources and finances. Therefore, the Aayog has proposed to start medical colleges in PPP mode and hand over district hospitals with 750 beds for their clinical practice.

As per this project, the government will allot land to construct a medical college, even as private parties will invest for infrastructure, teaching and non-teaching staff, and run the college. The government will hand over the district hospitals to the private parties concerned for clinical practice. However, the district hospital staff will work under the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

Based on this model, the State had decided to start medical colleges in 11 districts, including Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Kolar, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Bagalkot, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Bengaluru Rural, among others. In the first phase, project reports were submitted for colleges in Vijayapura, Tumakuru, and Kolar districts, which have now been put on hold.

Instead of these PPP-mode medical colleges, the State cabinet recently approved a philanthropy superspeciality hospital by Azim Premji Foundation (APF) near Devanahalli at an estimated cost of ₹1,000 crore, with a focus on organ transplantation.

“APF will be given a completely free hand to run the hospital. The government’s role will be minimal. Only the Medical Education Minister, Principal Secretary, and the Director of the Department will be board members of this hospital,” Dr. Patil said.