‘State has asked Centre to start two medical college hospitals’ 

Special Correspondent 
 
RAMANATHAPURAM, June 20, 2018 00:00 IST

IT Minister says Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar districts likely to get them

The State government has written to the Centre to start medical college hospitals in Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar districts – two of the 115 aspirational districts identified for all-round development and quick transformation, Minister for Information Technology M. Manikandan has said.

Talking to reporters after chairing a review meeting with B. Chandramohan, Secretary, Information Technology, who is the monitoring officer for the district, and Collector S. Natarajan here on Tuesday, the Minister said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

The Minister said as the State government faced a severe financial crunch, it had been decided to seek the assistance of the Centre for starting the medical colleges in the two districts.

He wrote to J.P. Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, requesting him to start a medical college hospital in the district and the Union Minister replied that his request was being looked into, Mr. Manikandan said. “The Centre might come out with the announcement at any time” and the district administration had been asked to identify land for the purpose, he added.

The Minister said an information technology (IT) park was being set up in the district to invite IT companies to open shop and offer employment opportunities to educated youth in the district. Land had been identified for the purpose and the work would start soon, he said.

He had discussed with Minister for Higher Education K.P. Anbalagan opening of a government arts college at Peikarumbu near the memorial of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, exclusively for those residing in Rameswaram island, he said.

As all the three government employees’ quarters here were in a dilapidated condition, the government had decided to pull them down and build new structures. He said the district monitoring officer reviewed the performance of all departments and expressed satisfaction with the overall progress, he said.

As the State government faces a severe financial crunch, it has been decided to seek the assistance of the Centre for starting the colleges

M. Manikandan

Minister for Information Technology