Govt keen on building medical facility in NST

The state government may have cancelled its plan for Shillong Medical College in Umsawli but it is however keen on constructing the medical facility in New Shillong Township (NST) area.

Sources said that the government does not want to construct the Shillong Medical College in Umsawli since the land cover is not sufficient at the NST area.

Nonetheless, the state government would most likely go for ahead with construction of a medical facility there.

It is also learnt that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will soon convene a meeting on the matter as he has a commitment to provide a land parcel for the long-pending project.

According to sources, even the Health department would sit for discussions with the Urban Affairs department on acquiring land in NST for the project.

Sources have maintained that the government is intent on the project being taken up under public-private-partnership mode strictly with the reason that that it would generate employment in the state.

Nearly a decade ago, the state government had laid the foundation for the Shillong Medical College and Hospital at Reid Chest (TB) Hospital in Mawbah. However, in 2018, it had decided to shift the location to Umsawli in NST.

The government has already scrapped its agreement with Kolkata-based Kali Pradip Chaudhuri Group. It was assigned the task of building and running the proposed infrastructure.

The state is badly in need of a medical college as medical facilities in the state are limited to few private hospitals besides the government-run hospitals.

In stark contrast to the situation in Meghalaya, neighbouring Assam has set up multiple medical college and hospitals with many of them spread out across districts. The Shillong Times