Will GMC Handwara construction start this summer?

As has been the norm with most Government of India (GoI)-sponsored health projects, GMC Handwara and Udhampur have faced a delay in commissioning of work.

A year on, the site blueprint is yet to be finalised, putting a question mark over the construction and completion of the hyped allotments.

   

The two new medical colleges were sanctioned for J&K by GoI in December 2019.

At Handwara, 200 kanal of land were earmarked for the medical college, much of it procured from the locals.

However, till date, even the project executing agency has not been finalised.

A senior official in the Health department said the J&K government had planned to start the first batch of the medical college in a makeshift arrangement in 2022.

However, he said, the failure to get the work started had put a halt on these plans, denying north Kashmir a chance to have better healthcare and an increase in medical seats.

The official said that COVID-19 delayed many projects but expressed apprehension about the short “work season” in Kashmir.

“In winters, the progress of work would anyways be slow, so summer is vital and work must start then,” he said.

Nodal Officer for new medical colleges and AIIMS in J&K, Dr Yashpal Sharma said that the delay in starting the work was due to poor response to tenders floated by R&B in past.

He said, in the past, tenders were floated twice but there was no response.

“We have CPWD executing the project very well in AIIMS and we hope to have the same pace for the medical colleges now,” he said. “Five new medical colleges, which were started in 2019 after years of delay were completed on a fast-track basis by the government. Initial hiccups will be overcome soon.”

Dr Sharma said that the H&ME department was having regular review meetings with the R&B and had sought an expedited approach.

“Once the civil works start, the government will start the process of post creation and filling for the two medical colleges,” he said.

Chief Engineer R&B, Showkat Jeelani said that the tenders for the projects would once more be floated by March end.

Stating that a fast track approach had been adopted for the medical college at Handwara, Jeelani said GMC Srinagar was in the process of preparing a fresh architectural model.

“We are expecting the model and drawings to be ready in a week and then we will call for expression of interest,” he said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

14 − 6 =