Med college project finally gets going

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 1

After around six years, a project to set up a medical college in Bhiwani is likely to get going as the state government has finalised the site for its construction.

However, the prolonged delay is set to cost the exchequer dearly as the cost of the project has gone up almost more than two and a half times now.

The government has zeroed in on 34 acres near the headquarters of the Board of School Education, Haryana, in Bhiwani for the purpose. Tenders will be floated soon as the Chief Minister has approved the land after a joint team of the state and the Central governments submitted its report after a detailed study.

On July 29, 2017, then Union Health Minister JP Nadda, along with CM Manohar Lal Khattar, had laid the foundation stone of the project in Prem Nagar village, about 12 km from Bhiwani, on the Hansi road. The project was later cancelled as the subsequent study of the feasibility of the medical college indicated that it would be far from the town and the government civil hospital.

Project nodal officer Dr SK Kaushik said: “The CM has approved the site and the work is likely to begin from January next year. A revised estimate of the project indicates that it will cost around Rs525 crore.”

The cost of the project in 2017 was tipped to be around Rs189 crore. It was cleared by the UPA government in 2013, but got stuck due to confusion over selection of the site.