BHOPAL: Four years after the Union government set a target to upgrade existing medical colleges and increase the number of MBBS seats by 10,000 across the country, no new seats have been sanctioned in Madhya Pradesh’s medical colleges as opposed to the state target of 450. Moreover, only 920 new seats have been sanctioned in medical colleges across the country.Barring Odisha and Gujarat , no other state has been able to sanction new seats in their existing medical colleges, as revealed under an RTI filed by Neemuch-based RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur. Replying to the query by Gaur, Union ministry informed under the RTI Act that a total of 2,615 MBBS seats were to be sanctioned in 36 medical colleges.Of these, 450 seats were to be increased in Madhya Pradesh but even after four years and union government releasing more than ?100 crores for upgradation of the four government owned medical colleges of the state, not even a single seat has been increased so far.States like Odisha (200 seats), Gujarat (170 seats) and Punjab (100 seats) have upgraded their medical colleges and increased the requisite number of MBBS seats.However, when contacted over the issue, commissioner of medical education, Madhya Pradesh, Sheo Shekhar Shukla told TOI that the faculty-related requirements are already complete and infrastructure-related works are underway in the medical colleges. “We have requested the union government for inspecting the facilities available for increasing the seats this year. If our request is considered, then the 450 seats could increase from this year itself,” said Shukla. The delay in upgrading the MBBS seats in Madhya Pradesh has not only curtailed the opportunities of students aspiring to join the medical professions, but will also affect the availability of doctors in the state, five years down the line, experts say.“If works would have been completed on time like other states, then at least 1,200 students would have got the opportunity of studying in the governmentrun medical colleges in past three years. This clearly reflects the apathy of the officals of concerning department towards the students,” RTI activist Chandrashekhar Guar who sought the information told TOI.“However, the government should take the upgradation works of the medical colleges on top priority , as on one side it provides opportunities to the students, it will also help in tackling the issue of scarcity of doctors in the state,” he added.

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