Health sciences varsity unlikely at Ner Chowk

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 23

The University of Health Sciences may come up at another place instead of Ner Chowk (Mandi) as decided by the previous Congress regime as the government is planning to repeal the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences Act, 2017, with a new one.

An indication to this effect was given by Health and Family Welfare Minister Vipin Parmar here on Wednesday.

“We are proposing to repeal the Act during the monsoon session of the Assembly and bring in a new Bill,” he said.

Parmar also hinted that the venue proposed for the setting up of the university could also be shifted elsewhere from Ner Chowk. At present, all medical institutions are affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University (HPU).

While participating in the debate before the passing of the Bill, Suresh Bhardwaj, who was then an Opposition MLA, had demanded that the venue of the university should be Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla. The Governor gave assent to the Bill on January 1, 2018.

In the chapter II of the Act, detailing the Establishment of the University, it had been mentioned that the venue would be Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College, Ner Chowk, in Mandi district.

Prior to this, the Union Labour Ministry had set up an ESI Medical College at Ner Chowk, which was handed over to the Himachal Government by the Centre.

It was on August 25, 2017, when on the last day of the monsoon session that the House had passed the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences Bill, 2017. Incidentally, this was also the last day of the last session of the 12th Vidhan Sabha. Then Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur had submitted the Bill in the House, which was passed by the Assembly.

Thakur had pointed out that at present the entire health education in the state, both in the government and the private sector, was under the overall control of Himachal Pradesh University as there was no separate medical university to regulate all such institutions.

Another objective cited for bringing in the Bill was the dire need to rein in the private medical colleges, especially with regard to fee structure, faculty and admission procedure.

It was also stressed that the Bill would help bring about qualitative change in medical education. Many other states, including Punjab, Haryana and Karnataka, have separate Acts to regulate medical education and related matters.

All medical, dental, ayurveda, homoeopathy, nursing, pharmacy and physiotherapy colleges and institutes were to be brought under this university.