Responding to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's request, the central government on Wednesday gave approval for the establishment of a new Government Medical College (GMC) at Hoshiarpur, besides up-gradation of the existing local Civil Hospital.
As per an official release, the new GMC would be set up at a cost of Rs 325 crore, of which Rs 195 crore, that is 60 per cent share, would be met by the Centre. The remaining 40 per cent to the tune of Rs 130 crore would be contributed by the Punjab government as the state's share for the college.
According to an official spokesperson, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conveyed its approval to the state government on Tuesday evening, under the centrally sponsored scheme for the establishment of the new medical college attached with existing District and Referral Hospital.
The upcoming GMC is the first-of-its-kind in the Kandi region, with an intake capacity of 100 seats. It will provide quality education healthcare, diagnostics services and give an impetus to medical education and research in the region, the release said.
The Centre has also cleared a proposal for the up-gradation of the Civil Hospital in Hoshiarpur, thereby enhancing its bed capacity from the existing 200 to 500, with the latest medical infrastructural facilities added to the hospital.
There are three GMCs already functioning in the state -- at Amritsar, Faridkot and Patiala. Two other GMCs are already being set up at SAS Nagar Mohali and Kapurthala, with the sixth now sanctioned for Hoshiarpur.