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PGI finance panel approves Rs 1,000-crore mother care unit, neuroscience centre
The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has a reason to cheer as it’s standing finance committee has given green signal to its majority of projects which were lying pending for long.
The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has a reason to cheer as it’s standing finance committee has given green signal to its majority of projects which were lying pending for long.
The meeting of the standing finance committee members, which was held in New Delhi on Tuesday, went on till late evening and ended on a positive note. “The meeting was positive,” stated Dr YK Chawla, director PGI.
A senior PGI official said, “Our two most important projects — neuroscience centre, and mother and child care centre — worth Rs 500 crore each have got the SFC approval.”
The project of setting up a neuro-science centre at the PGI is pending for more than a decade now. The PGI administration had cleared the project but the proceedings due to delay in clearance from the UT administration. In 2015, the master plan was approved by the administration.
“The agenda of the neuroscience centre was placed in the previous SFC meeting too, but at that time, it was postponed as the cost pitched by the PGI was too high (around Rs 800 crore). Thereafter, the PGI was asked to make changes in the proposal by rather constructing it in a phased manner,” the official added. Now the neuroscience centre will be constructed in two phases. The SFC has approved Rs 500 crore for phase 1, he said.
“The proposal will be now presented in the PGI governing body meeting, following which it will be sent for clearance of the expenditure finance committee,” informed the official.
Funds cleared for replacement of ACs in Nehru hospital
Apart from the two major projects, the SFC has given primary approval for a modern operation theatre (OT) complex, and has also sanctioned funds for replacement of air-conditioners in the OTs of Nehru Hospital.
The existing operating theatre at the Nehru Hospital was built nearly 50 years back and no significant change has happened in it since then. Even the air conditioners do not function in these OTs, say faculty members.
Modular OT complex with state-of-the-art facility is one of the long pending demands of the PGI faculty members. In the last week of April, the UT administration had given a conceptual approval of the location for the new OT complex.
Every year, the PGIMER perform around 2 lakh major and minor surgeries. Due to the lack of operation theatres, patients have to wait for several months for even minor surgeries.
