Health secretary sits on EMC building takeover

KOCHI: The Ernakulam Government Medical College is searching for funds for the upkeep of its buildings and to build new blocks and hostels, but it is learnt that the government is sitting on the proposal to hand over the buildings to the Public Works Department.

It is understood that the Chief Engineer of PWD has already expressed the department’s willingness take over the works as it’s a government college now. The Director of Medical Education has also agreed to the proposal.

Now the Health Department Secretary has to write in this regard to the PWD secretary and the latter has to issue an order, finalising the process.

“If this has to happen, it has to happen with the knowledge of both Health Minister and PWD Minister. The secretaries have to expedite the case. It is the bureaucratic delay that is now blocking,” said an official at EMC.

It’s understood that a corpus Rs 4 crore is lying with PWD allocated by the government for the buildings of the government medical colleges in the state.

“If the PWD order taking over EMC is issued at the earliest, PWD will be able to use a good chunk of it. Otherwise it will go to other medical colleges,” said the official.

Meanwhile, employees of the medical college, who are seeking permanent status for them in the changeover to government medical colleges, met a couple of legislators including leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan at the state capital where the Assembly session is going on, to press their case. They are also meeting the Chief Minister in this regard.