Shillong: Special concessions have been
granted to encourage setting up of medical colleges by private
parties in the North Eastern states, union minister Gulam Nabi
Azad said on Friday.
"We have reduced the minimum area requirement for a
medical college from 25 acre to 20 acre. The requisite bed
capacity has been brought down from 300 to 200, Azad, the
Health and Family Welfare Minister, said.
Besides, requisite `bed occupancy` has been reduced
from 80 per cent to 60 per cent and number of required
laboratories from 14 to six.
These concessions, he said, would encourage private
parties from setting up more medical colleges in the region.
The health minister said the government would be
setting up a dozen nursing colleges in the region in the next
two years.
Maintaining that the government as well as private
health institutions were facing a shortage of faculty, Azad
said his ministry has taken a number of initiatives in the
last six months to increase the human resource.
"There are more teachers available for the students
now. We have also added an additional 3800 PG seats in the
government sector in this academic year," he said.
PTI