ESIC Medical College to be made functional soon: Minister

The ESIC Medical College at Ner Chowk in Mandi district would be made functional soon but the Union government has to take the final call, Himchal Pradesh Health Minister Kaul Thakur informed the Vidhan Sabha today.
Replying to a question by BJP members, Gulab Singh Thakur Jai Ram Thakur, he said that the state government wanted to take over the ESIC medical college in at Ner Chowk, Mandi and make it functional as early as possible.
The minister said the medical college in Mandi was announced by the UPA government in the in 2007, but the BJP government had withdrawn the notification.

He said later there was hunger strike in Mandi and the issue was taken up again with the Centre.
"The Labour ministry then had announced 12 ESIC medical colleges in the country, out of which one was allotted to Mandi," he said adding the building was inaugurated on March 5, 2014, just before the Parliament polls were announced and the MCI team had also inspected the building and pointed out some gaps.
Later, the NDA government came to power and decided not to go ahead with the ESIC colleges.

The Labour ministry had already spent Rs 765 Crore on the building and the state government is ready to take over the college now, but the issue is stuck on payment of ten per cent interest amounting Rs 285 crore but the government wants the interest to be waived off.

He said the government would immediately approach the MCI for its nod to start classes.
Leader of opposition, Prem Kumar Dhumal and BJP members, Rajiv Bindal and Jai Ram Thakur, however, said the Congress government had played politics on the college and got it inaugurated by the then Labour minister, Oscar Fernandes on the eve of elections only to claim credit.