Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Polit-bureau member Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu alleged that the State government is cheating people in the name of establishing 16 medical colleges in the State. He said that the State government had urged the Central government to set up only seven medical colleges, but not 16 as claimed.
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Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Ayyanna Patrudu said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had laid the foundation stone to construct 16 medical colleges in the State. A reply received from the Health Ministry, New Delhi, on September 6, in response to an RTI query has revealed shocking facts, he said.
“We were informed that the State government has sent proposals to set up seven medical colleges in the State, but not 16 as claimed by the government. The seven proposed colleges were sought at Eluru, Markapuram, Pulivendula, Vizianagaram, Piduguralla, Paderu and Machilipatnam. In response, the Central government has agreed to set up only three colleges at Piuduguralla, Paderu and Machilipatnam.
He said that the State government has estimated a budget of ₹325 crore for each of the three medical colleges. The Central government’s share for each college was ₹195 crore, while the State government has to bear ₹130 crore for each college. While the Central government share was already released, the State government has not released a single paisa so far for these colleges, he alleged.
Though work on construction of the Paderu Medical College has already started, they were stopped for non-payment of bills to the contractor, the TDP leader alleged.