STAFF REPORTER GUWAHATI: The North Eastern States will have more medical colleges with the Centre is bearing 90% of the total expenditures to set up such institutions. The new medical colleges will be set up under a scheme run by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to establish medical colleges attached to district and referral hospitals. The governments in NE States will have to bear only 10% of the total cost. “In case of other States, the Centre will bear 60% of the total expenditures to open the new medical colleges. The States will have to spend 40% funds from its own to execute the scheme,” a source in the State Health department said. But in case of the North Eastern States, funding pattern for setting up new medical colleges will be 90:10 Sources said since the NE States will have to contribute only 10% of the total expenditures, most of the State Governments are now preparing detailed project reports for the new medical colleges. “Under the present schemes all NE States will have medical colleges in near future,” the source said. Assam has now six medical colleges in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur and Barpeta. Four more colleges are currently under construction at Dhubri, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Diphu, which will start functioning from 2020-21. Once the three announced medical colleges become operational, the State will have a total of 13 medical colleges. The State Government has also laid the foundation stones for three more new medical colleges in Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Tinsukia. “Assam is having maximum number of medical colleges in NE. It is now high time to see opening of such colleges in other parts of the region to produce more doctors,” Dr Hafiz Ahmed, a retired faculty of Gauhati Medical College said. Also Read: Cabinet approves 75 new Medical Colleges; to add 15,700 MBBS seats Also Watch: Bir Lachit Sena in Doomdooma staged 2-hr sit in demonstration | The Sentinel News

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