Punjab assembly heats up over medical colleges’ debate

Chandigarh: Tempers flared in the Punjab assembly during the ongoing budget session on Tuesday, as members of treasury and opposition benches clashed over the a plan to set up seven medical colleges.

The exchange escalated into a sharp confrontation between minister Aman Arora and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, with treasury benches accusing the latter of using abusive language and asking him to apologise.The exchange began when Congress MLAs Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and the LoP sought details of the medical colleges established in Punjab since March 2022 and the present status of each institution.

Tript Rajinder objected to govt's reply, stating he specifically asked about the number of new govt medical colleges opened during the present govt's tenure. However, the response included institutions being established by govt and private entities.Tript Rajinder reminded the house that the govt promised to open govt hospitals in every district and argued that medical colleges set up by private bodies could not be projected as achievements of the govt.

Responding to the criticism, health minister Dr Balbir Singh asked the opposition to provide a list of medical colleges established during the four decades when govts led by Congress and SAD-BJP alliance were in power. He said he would present a list of colleges initiated during AAP govt's tenure.The minister said due to state govt's policies and efforts, the ESIC Medical College in Ludhiana, with an annual intake of 50 MBBS students, opened in 2025.

He added a private medical college, with an annual intake of 50 MBBS students, opened in 2024 at Mandi Gobindgarh at the Regional Institute of Management and Technology.Dr Balbir informed the House that seven more medical colleges were in the pipeline. These include govt medical colleges at Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala with assistance from the Govt of India; medical colleges at Sangrur and Nawanshahr under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode; JIS Medical College and Hospital (Jodh Ishwar Singh Medical College and Hospital) at Bhutta village in Ludhiana district in the private sector; a minority medical college for the Jain community at Lehragaga; and a medical college at Malerkotla with assistance from the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).He added the govt actively assisted private players in setting up medical colleges by providing land, and 50% of seats in private colleges would have fees regulated by the govt. The minister said the govt managed to add 900 medical seats.The LoP, however, maintained that the question was specifically about govt medical colleges, while the minister included private institutions. He questioned the govt's role in the establishment of private colleges and alleged the govt was attempting to mislead the people.Bajwa said the finance minister announced plans to establish 16 govt medical colleges, but even after 4 years, work did not begin on a single one. He claimed that announcements were made for five colleges, but the locations of the remaining 11 were not disclosed.In response, the health minister said the medical college at Hoshiarpur, being set up with central govt assistance, was approved during the tenure of the previous govt but was not executed by it.

He said while no new medical college was completed during the previous govt's tenure, the present AAP govt was in the process of setting up nine colleges.During the back-and-forth, when Arora attempted to intervene, the LoP objected, saying Arora was not the minister concerned and should not speak on the issue. Bajwa argued that even though Arora was the state president of the AAP, parliamentary rules did not permit him to intervene.Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan intervened, stating that under the principle of collective responsibility, the chair could allow any minister to speak. Bajwa accused the speaker of misleading the House, which Sandhwan denied. Bajwa argued that only the chief minister had the privilege of speaking on behalf of another minister. At this point, Arora stood up and asked Bajwa to listen to him for a minute and urged him to sit down, saying the LoP could not dictate who should speak in the House.Arora said Congress leaders frequently referred to the promise of 16 medical colleges, but pointed out that the party's manifesto promised at least five medical colleges and failed to establish even one during its tenure. The exchange escalated into a verbal confrontation. Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the LoP of using abusive language, prompting treasury bench members to demand an apology. An agitated Arora moved towards the opposition benches before the speaker intervened and asked members from both sides to return to their seats.

Congress MLA Avtar Singh Henry later intervened and helped calm the situation.Discussion on excessive phone useDuring a discussion on a question related to facilities for patients with Type 1 diabetes raised by AAP MLA Dalbir Singh, speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan urged the govt to explore ways to regulate excessive mobile and social media use by children. Sandhwan said children spent a considerable amount of time on mobile phones, and many parents handed over phones to keep them engaged in games, resulting in even young children becoming addicted to screens.

He asked whether the health department could issue an advisory urging parents to limit mobile phone use among children. Responding to the suggestion, health minister Dr Balbir Singh said the growing burden of non-communicable diseases was linked to lifestyle factors, with mobile addiction emerging as a significant component. Terming the suggestion a timely one, he said the govt should discuss the issue and consider appropriate measures.Garbage piles up Concerned over garbage growing across Punjab's cities, Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh alleged that waste was not being lifted for days and large mountains of legacy waste accumulated in several urban areas. Raising the issue in the House, Rana Gurjeet said the garbage situation had worsened, with residents facing serious problems due to uncollected waste. He asked if the govt had any proposal to generate power from waste, noting that minister Sanjeev Arora held charge of both the power department and local govt.Arora cited the example of Amritsar and said 11.4 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste accumulated there, of which around 40% was remediated. He shared data on daily generation and collection of solid waste in major cities. According to the minister, Ludhiana generates about 1,031 tonnes of waste daily, followed by Amritsar with 660 tonnes, Jalandhar with 500 tonnes, and Bathinda with 110 tonnes.