Chattisgarh tables bill to acquire private medical college
The Chhattisgarh government has tabled a bill to acquire a cash-strapped private medical college in the state. The decision has raised questions of conflict of interest.
The bill to takeover Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College is to be presented in the state assembly session on Thursday. The college is owned by Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Hospital (CCMH).
While introducing the Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College (Acquisition) Bill 2021 in the state assembly, Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo said: “The present owners of the college requested the state government to take over the institute in view of their financial difficulties. It is necessary to take over the medical college immediately in the public interest.” He said the acquisition of the college would lead to an annual financial burden of about ₹140 crore.
However, the opposition BJP alleged that the move was aimed at “favouring” people linked to the institute, whose management included members of a family in which Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s daughter was married.
“The move to acquire the college was “an attempt to save the future of a medical college (Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College) and hundreds of students in the state,” Baghel said in a series of tweets.
According to the bill, the state government will appoint a special officer to conduct a valuation of all movable and immovable properties of the college for payment against acquisition and the payable amount considering the inevitability of the acquisition would be double of the actual valuation amount.
The bill said the state will not pay any other amount for the college or shall not be liable to pay towards any liability incurred before the acquisition.
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