Maharashtra: 9 medical colleges among 31 proposals cleared ahead of polls

CM Eknath Shinde with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The state cabinet on Wednesday approved 31 proposals for new schemes and restructured the existing ones in many departments. This indicated the rush ahead of the election year and reflected efforts to score political points and woo voters from different sections of the society.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link was named after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tallest leader of the BJP. It will be officially branded as Atal Setu, CM Eknath Shinde said after the weekly cabinet meeting. He said the Versova-Bandra sea link was named after V D Savarkar, the ruling partners' Hindutva icon. The proposals had come from Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis after the city's coastal road was last month given the name Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

In another city-related decision, one of the country's oldest institutes, Sir JJ School of Art, its affiliates, the applied art school and architecture college have been clubbed to make it ‘deemed to be university'. The proposal to this effect will be sent to the University Grant Commission soon.

Private vet colleges

In another far-reaching decision in higher education, the Cabinet approved a proposal to allow permanently unaided private veterinary science and animal husbandry colleges. This is expected to open another floodgate for the politician-turned-education barons, who already run professional universities/colleges that impart education in medical, pharmacy, engineering, management, hospitality etc.

Currently, the state government runs 10 colleges that provide a diploma, graduation and post-graduation in this stream. The Cabinet note said the state did not have adequate numbers of veterinary doctors to tend to the vast number of livestock. It added that the public representatives had been raising a demand for permission to private veterinary colleges.

9 new govt med colleges

The Cabinet also approved Rs 4,365 crore for nine new government medical colleges. The cost includes expenses for creating a 430-bed capacity in various places. The colleges with 100 seats each will come up in Palghar, Ambernath (Thane), Jalna, Amravati, Buldhana, Washim, Wardha, Bhandara and Gadchiroli. The sites for Amravati and Gadchiroli have not been finalised yet. Currently, Maharashtra has 23 state-run medical schools with 3,750 seats. The state has 0.74 doctors per 1,000 people, whereas the national ratio is 0.9:1000. Buldhana has been given an agricultural sciences college as well.

Centre of excellence

Some top government engineering and pharmacy colleges have been given the Centre of Excellence tag for assisting the industry/manufacturing with innovation and creating more jobs. Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute is one such institute Rs 5L health cover Shinde said the health insurance cover for all citizens of Maharashtra has been raised to Rs 5 lakh per year. The Cabinet cleared the amalgamation of two health schemes - state's Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and the Centre's Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana - to achieve the hike. The previous cover was capped at Rs 1.5 lakh.

About 2 crore cards will be distributed and more hospitals empanelled. Balasaheb Thackeray mobile clinic scheme - Aapla Dawakhana - was given R210 crore to serve better at 700 sites. Financial assistance for the destitute people has been increased to Rs 1,500 per month.

For unorganised workers

A corporation will be formed for providing social and welfare security to the unorganised workers, in 39 industrial and 340 commercial disciplines. The disciplines will have their respective virtual boards that will be regulated by a supreme body headed by the CM. A portal will register the workers and also run the virtual boards. The beneficiaries will benefit from most schemes that are there for the skilled organised workforce.

Help to Pak-held fisherfolk

The fishermen who were imprisoned in Pakistan on the charges of entering the marine territory have been given a relief. Their distressed families will be provided financial assistance of R300 per day for the entire jail term. The scheme is based on the one the Gujarat government has been running, said the CM's office. Activist Jatin Desai, who works for the fisherfolk community, welcomed the decision. "We had approached the state government with an appeal which has been accepted," he said.

Rs 4,365 cr
Fund approved for nine government medical colleges