Amaravati, Nov 11 YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday accused the TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh of attempting to hand over government medical colleges to private operators under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, calling the move a “massive scam” involving public assets.
The former chief minister questioned the need for private participation when the colleges were being developed with government funds and could be completed through phased public investment.
“Handing over government medical colleges to private players under the PPP model amounts to a massive scam involving public assets,” Jagan said in a post on X, accusing the Naidu government of pushing the move.
The former CM said his government had established 17 new medical colleges, of which five were opened and another three were ready to commence classes.
The remaining nine could have been completed by allocating Rs 1,000 crore annually, he said, questioning why the present government was not pursuing that option.
Jagan alleged that the PPP arrangement involved leasing government land worth hundreds of crores of rupees for just Rs 100 per acre, allowing private operators to charge market-linked fees for more than half the medical seats and providing Rs 1,630 crore in public funds as Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
He further claimed that the government had agreed to bear the salaries of doctors, professors and other employees for two years, involving an expenditure of Rs 5 crore per month or Rs 120 crore over two years for each college.
The YSRCP chief argued that the land, buildings, financial assistance and initial staff expenditure were all being provided through public resources, questioning the justification for handing over the institutions to private operators.
He said the medical colleges were designed as teaching hospitals offering free multi-speciality treatment to poor patients. Half the seats would be filled through the convenor quota, while the remaining seats would also be available at fees lower than those charged by private institutions, he said.
Reddy claimed that arrangements had also been made with banks to secure funding and develop a financially sustainable model, under which revenue generated by the teaching hospitals would support their operations.
He said the colleges were intended to function as part of a wider public healthcare network connected to area hospitals, community health centres, primary health centres and village clinics, extending specialised medical services to rural areas.
Targeting the TDP-led NDA coalition government over the state of public healthcare, Jagan alleged that the Aarogyasri scheme had been weakened, with Rs 3,000 crore in payments remaining pending to network hospitals despite the issuance of bonds.
He also accused the government of failing to ensure the availability of essential medicines in public hospitals, abandoning the zero-vacancy policy for medical staff, discontinuing Nadu-Nedu hospital infrastructure works and weakening village clinics and 108 and 104 ambulance services.
The former chief minister claimed that his government’s recruitment policy had brought vacancies in state government hospitals down to four per cent, against a national shortage of 61 per cent in specialist doctors.
He said around one crore people had signed a petition organised by his party opposing the ‘proposed privatisation’, but the government was proceeding with the plan.
Jagan warned that the YSRCP would pursue legal action against those involved in the decision if it returned to power, adding that arrests would not be ruled out. He said his party would oppose any attempt to transfer public healthcare assets to private entities.
Meanwhile, there was no immediate reaction from the ruling TDP.
(PTI News)
