Four years after nod, Kalyan still waits for medical college

Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation got approval to build a medical college in Kalyan in 2016, but it has not taken any steps to take the proposal ahead.

Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation got approval to build a medical college in Kalyan in 2016, but it has not taken any steps to take the proposal ahead.

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A total of 38 acres had been identified to build the medical college and hospital.

The civic body said it has not got the land yet.

“The land is a private property and it has been encroached upon. We have not forwarded the proposal to the state government for the final nod. We will take the proposal forward only after getting the land,” said a KDMC official.

Activists and students are irked with the corporation’s lackadaisical attitude. “The Mumbai University sub-centre took years to build. The quality of education in civic schools has suffered,” said Shahid Ansari, educational activist.

Thane district has only one medical college in Kalwa that can accommodate only 60 students. Activist said there was a need for another college, especially for students living in Karjat, Badlapur and Titwala. “Many students from rural, tribal as well as urban areas would have benefitted with this college. They have to travel to Mumbai or Thane to study medicine. It would have been a great help and support for the civic hospitals in the vicinity,” said Manjiri Dhuri, president, Vidyarthi Bharti.

MLA Jagannath Shinde said, “It has been four years since the civic body got approval. I even raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha and got a similar reply from cabinet minister Eknath Shinde. However, such process does not take four years.”