UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has sought ₹2,000 crore from the Centre for the proposed Chandigarh Regional Medical Hub and 36 additional postgraduate medical seats for the city’s medical college, as part of efforts to strengthen public healthcare infrastructure.
Kataria raised the demands during a meeting with Union health and family welfare minister JP Nadda in New Delhi on Tuesday. The proposed medical hub is planned as a major tertiary and super-speciality healthcare facility to serve patients from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring areas.
The project envisages a 1,000-bed facility in Sector 53, comprising a 500-bed centre for women and child healthcare and another 500-bed centre for super-speciality care, including emergency and trauma services. It will also include academic and research facilities, postgraduate medical education infrastructure, laboratories and allied facilities.
The administration had sought central assistance for the project earlier too. In June, the Union health ministry told the UT that, as the project proponent, it would have to meet the cost from its budgetary resources. A public-private partnership would require separate approvals from the department of economic affairs.
Push for education, drug de-addiction initiatives
{{/usCountry}}Push for education, drug de-addiction initiatives
{{/usCountry}}Kataria also met Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan and discussed strengthening Panjab University and a proposed AI Centre. Radhakrishnan is the chancellor of the university.
During his meeting with Union education minister Pralhad Joshi, Kataria sought centrally funded technical institute status for Punjab Engineering College, on the lines of Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur. He also sought appointment of a vice-chancellor in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2018.
With Union home minister Amit Shah, Kataria discussed efforts to make the city drug-free, with emphasis on de-addiction, rehabilitation, skill development and employment opportunities for people recovering from substance abuse.
₹93 crore approved for Ajj Sarovar
Kataria thanked Union culture and tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for approving ₹93 crore for Ajj Sarovar in Kharar. The funding is aimed at developing the water body and its surroundings as a cultural and tourism asset. Ajj Sarovar, an ancient 15-acre water body in Kharar, is associated with the area’s religious and cultural heritage. The site has previously figured in discussions on heritage and tourism development. Kataria also thanked Shekhawat for approving around ₹19 crore for a digital museum at the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19.