PGI’s second campus not anytime soon

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

The plan to develop a second   campus of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hangs fire as the  UT Administration  is  charging the market rate for 51 acres in Sarangpur.

The PGI has planned to develop a new OPD, trauma centre, cancer treatment centre and learning resources centre on the second campus in Sarangpur village, 2 km from the institute. However, meeting the finances for purchasing the land is turning out to be a big hurdle. 

Amitabh Avasthi, Deputy Director, Administration, said, “We need a second campus. Last year, as many as 25 lakh patients visited the PGI.  One campus cannot cater to such a large number of people. The paperwork is done. We are working on the funds. It’s a government-run institution and cannot pay the market price of land. All possibilities are being looked into.” 

Established on 277 acres, the PGI provides high-quality patient care, besides being a training ground in all-important branches of the medical stream. 

It also undertakes community-based research. However, due to inadequate infrastructure, it has not been able to meet the current and future requirements. The institute has 1,900 beds and has failed to increase the number despite some additions, such as the OPD Block, Advanced Paediatric Centre, Cardiac Centre, Drug De-addiction Centre, Advanced Eyecare Centre and Emergency 

Block. Sources said the plan was to add 2,400 more beds.

As per the plan, screening OPDs will be constructed at Sarangpur. The sources said to unburden the institution, the patients would be screened at the OPDs and only those requiring further treatment would 

be referred to the existing OPDs at the PGI.  

Earlier, the PGI was told it would be allotted land in Sectors 50, 51, 52, 53 of the city, but the institute had asked for land in Sarangpur as it would be accessible from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The PGI has been given 10 acres at Mullanpur to set up a satellite centre.

UT Administrator and Governor of Punjab VP Singh Badnore had already extended his support to the PGI administration as far as the transfer of land to the PGI was concerned.