In Uttarakhand, students protest as government hands over new medical college to private trust

In 2020, the Uttarakhand government allotted land for a new medical college in Haridwar – and began inviting applications from undergraduate students four years later.

The first batch of 100 students began their undergraduate medical education late in 2024.

But in less than six months, the state government declared that it is privatising the college, leading to protests from students and Opposition parties.

This is the first time, perhaps, that a newly constructed medical college is being transferred to a private party.

Until now, state governments like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have offered to hand over the management of district hospitals to private players. In return, the private companies construct medical colleges.

Students are demanding that the decision be rolled back, anxious that a fee increase will follow and that they will end up with a private degree, not a government one.

On January 13, Congress workers staged a protest outside the medical college, which has an attached hospital with 250 beds. “This is nothing but corruption,” said Ganesh Godiyal, a senior party leader. “It seems as if the medical college was built to benefit a private organisation.”

Godiyal said the land on which the college is built belongs to the municipal corporation and the construction cost qa Rs 638 crore. “If it was an...

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