Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday asked concerned departments to coordinate in making available for the construction of new medical colleges in Washim, Bhandara, Ambernath and Palghar.

He instructed that the land should be made available on priority. He gave these instructions at the meeting held today to review the availability of space and the construction progress of under-construction medical colleges and hospitals.

The Chief Minister said that the government has approved the construction of new government medical colleges in Washim, Bhandara, Ambernath and Palghar. The local people’s representatives and the district administration should inspect the available sites and select the sites.

A time-bound plan should be made to appoint a consultancy firm for these works and complete the ancillary matters on time. The local administration should ensure that there is no delay in any work.

He said that work is underway on government medical colleges with a capacity of 100 students and 430-bed hospitals in Sindhudurg, Jalna, Amravati, Washim, Wardha, Buldhana, Gadchiroli, Parbhani and Hingoli. Additional funds are required to provide facilities in these colleges. He ordered that the Public Works Department submit a revised comprehensive proposal for all the works before a high-level committee, as per the rules of the National Medical Commission.

Meanwhile, the Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse told the state assembly that the admissions will be cancelled if it is found that forged documents have been used to get admission in private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. He was replying to a question raised by Sanjay Gaikwad and Namita Mundada through a calling attention motion.

“The RTE Act provides for reserving 25 per cent of seats in private and unaided schools for students from economically weaker and disadvantaged groups. Under this scheme, such students are admitted to schools in their area from the first day. For this, the annual income of the parents must be within Rs 1 lakh. There is no provision for changing schools once admission is granted,” said Minister Bhuse.

He added that complaints have been received that some schools are conducting separate classes for students admitted under RTE, and strict action will be taken after investigating the matter.

–IANS

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