Health Minister Engages in Twitter Spat with Telangana's KTR over Disputed Issues
In a series of interactions, K T Rama Rao, the Telangana Minister, and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya have been discussing the establishment of new medical universities in the state.
According to the information available, KTR published two interactions from the former Union health ministers to the state government in 2015 and 2019. In 2019, Harsh Vardhan, a former Union health minister, asked Telangana to send a detailed project record on the state government's request for upgradation of existing district medical facilities into medical colleges in two areas of Telangana based on the standards for consideration.
However, the Telangana Government has not sent an official proposal for the establishment of a new medical college under the centrally sponsored scheme for the facility of new clinical colleges. Furthermore, no official proposal for setting up a new medical university has been received from the state, as stated by both Mandaviya and his predecessor.
In response to K T Rama Rao's claim that no medical universities were approved by Prime Minister Modi to Telangana, Mandaviya stated that the number of proposals for medical universities have been sent out by the Telangana State Government is "No". He also emphasised that there is a difference between sending a simple letter and an official proposal according to the plan's needs.
The central government has consistently asked for and assisted Telangana state to send an official proposal with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) based on plan demands. In December 2021, Mr Mandaviya provided a reply in Parliament regarding the establishment of new medical colleges in Telangana.
It is worth noting that the existing prominent medical institution in Telangana, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, was established in 1961 and is already approved by regulatory bodies such as the National Medical Commission (NMC) and Indian Nursing Council (INC). However, no new approvals since 2015 are noted.
Under Phase III of this scheme, all States/UTs were asked to send proposals for consideration in the Ministry, but no proposal has been received from Telangana State for the establishment of a new medical college under this plan.
In conclusion, based on currently available information, the central government has not approved any new medical universities in Telangana since 2015. Mandaviya encouraged the readers to read the 3rd paragraph of the letter of his predecessor, and the reply just recently given in the Parliament, for a better understanding of the situation.
