MQM-P Submit Petition In Court Regarding Delay In Establishment Of Medical College In Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan has taken the matter of delay by almost 6 years in establishment of the Sindh government funded medical college in Hyderabad to Sindh High Court.

The party's Deputy Convener Kanwar Naveed Jameel and MPAs of Hyderabad including Muhammad Rashid Khilji, Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui and Nasir Hussain Qureshi submitted a petition in Hyderabad circuit bench here on Monday.

"The medical college's scheme was approved 10 years ago but the project has still not been completed," lamented Jameel while talking to the media outside the court.

He also held the Sindh government responsible for not providing land for establishment of a Federal government funded university in Hyderabad.

According to him, the MQM-P's lawmakers had also taken up the matter of the allotment of the land with Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah but they received nothing except assurances.

"No new college, university or hospital has been built in Karachi or Hyderabad during the last 12 years of Pakistan Peoples Party's government in the province," he said.

As per the petition, the development scheme titled Medical College at Hyderabad was approved on March 16, 2012, and later it was included in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the fiscal 2012-13.

The college's construction subsequently started in Gulistan-e-Sarmast in Latifabad with the cost of construction in 2012-13 budget estimated at Rs.

1394.467 million while the project was to be completed by June, 2015.

The scheme was also reflected in the budgets 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 of the Sindh government vide scheme numbers 518, 797 and 459, respectively.

But, the completion period was first extended to June, 2017, and four more times later to June, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The provincial government has so far spent Rs.943.528 million, which is around 67% of the total cost, on the construction while around Rs.450 million were still to be utilized.

The petitioners contended that the provincial government was not even giving importance to the Sindh assembly where such schemes were passed by its members in the annual budgets.

"... if the above said scheme would have been completed in 2015, the same medical college would be producing qualified doctors." The petitioners expressed fear that the government intended to hand over the college's incomplete building to some non-governmental organization (NGO).

They pleaded with the court to order the respondents to complete the project by June, 2022, without further extending the completion date.

They also prayed the court to restrain the government from handing over the college to any NGO.