Tourism Minister refutes YSRCP claims on medical college privatisation

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh on Sunday strongly refuted claims by the YSR Congress Party that the TDP government is privatising new medical colleges through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

In a statement, he described the allegations as “false and misleading” and explained that the PPP model accelerates construction while keeping ownership and control with the State government after project completion. According to him, the model will make medical education more accessible, reduce the financial burden on the government, and add at least 150 MBBS seats per college.

Mr. Durgesh said the government is upgrading colleges in line with National Medical Commission (NMC) norms, targeting 100 MBBS seats per college annually.

Addressing YSRCP president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s claim that 17 medical colleges were approved during his tenure, Mr. Durgesh countered that none were fully completed under the previous government. He cited specific examples: only 17% of the Markapuram college, 12% of Madanapalle, 77% of Pulivendula, and 15% of Adoni were completed. He also noted that just 17% of the required ₹8,500 crore was spent, and many colleges began classes with inadequate infrastructure, staff, and hostel facilities.

Claiming that the TDP government has accelerated ongoing projects, he pointed to Paderu college, which opened in the 2024-25 academic year. He added that under the PPP model, development would proceed in two phases: first, completing colleges at Adoni, Markapuram, and Pulivendula, and second, starting construction at Amalapuram, Narsipatnam, Palakollu, Bapatla, Penukonda, and Parvathipuram. After construction, the hospitals would be handed back to the government.

Mr. Durgesh emphasised that the PPP model is intended to improve speed and access to medical education and healthcare, not to privatise them, as alleged by the YSRCP.