PGI's satellite centre plans get boost from the top
The dream of Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to have satellite centres in the vicinity of Chandigarh is moving closer to realisation as the Haryana government and the UT administrator have formally sought proposals through the union health ministry.
The dream of Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to have satellite centres in the vicinity of Chandigarh is moving closer to realisation as the Haryana government and the UT administrator have formally sought proposals through the union health ministry.
In Haryana, "land can be allotted in Panchkula if the PGIMER has plans to have another campus", chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reportedly said during a recent meeting that had union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in attendance too. Hooda asked for a proposal, and even UT administrator Shivraj Patil said the UT is willing to allot more land to the PGIMER for expansion.
In a follow-up, the union health minister directed the PGIMER administration to prepare a proposal on the basis of future plans and requirements for both the campuses and send it to his ministry. Sources said communication has already taken place between the PGIMER and the UT administration as well as the Haryana government.
What about Punjab?
The PGIMER had approached the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Punjab government to seek the 25 acres reserved for the Medicity project in Mullanpur. The institute even prepared a blueprint for a centre in Mullanpur, which is now being developed as 'New Chandigarh'. On the cards were a cancer research institute, an advanced imaging diagnostic centre, a center for sports injury and physical rehabilitation, and a state-of-the-art de-addiction center. But the state government gave a cold shoulder to this proposal.
However, the Mullanpur plan aside, after the Punjab government pursued the union health minister, the PGIMER is now working on a 500-bed centre in Sangrur and a 100-bed centre in Ferozepur. The land would be provided by the state government, and the union health ministry will fund the infrastructure.