Vijayawada: Health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav criticised YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s approach to constructing 17 new medical colleges, stating that at the previous government’s pace, it would take 23 years to complete them and provide the intended 150 student admissions per college. The minister’s remarks came in a detailed, six-page letter to the former chief minister, in which he accused him of hypocrisy and spreading misinformation regarding the new government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for some of the colleges.

The minister said that while the previous government approved an estimated cost of Rs 8,480 crore for the 17 colleges, it only spent Rs 1,450 crore over four years. He calculated that at this rate, it would take 23 years to complete the projects and a minimum of 16 years to finish construction. “Did you expect people to wait for 23 years, Jagan?” the Minister questioned. He noted that Jagan’s plan, which was supposed to start admissions for all 17 colleges by 2025-26, has been a complete failure. He accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of hypocrisy, recalling a news report in the former CM’s own newspaper on August 8, which stated that the previous government had introduced a self-financing model to provide high-quality medical education without financial constraints.

Yadav’s letter also addressed new National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations. He explained that while the previous government received approval for 150 seats in the first phase of five colleges, the Paderu college, which was supposed to get 150 seats for the 2024-25 academic year, was only granted 50 seats due to a lack of infrastructure. He blamed Jagan Mohan Reddy for the loss of 100 seats, as the previous administration was in power until June 2024 and was responsible for ensuring the necessary infrastructure was in place. “By your own admission in a press conference on September 10, even your prized Pulivendula Medical College has the infrastructure for 50 seats,” the minister wrote, pointing out that Jagan had effectively conceded his own failure to build the necessary facilities for a full 150-seat capacity. Dismissing Jagan Mohan Reddy’s threats to cancel the PPP projects if he returns to power, Yadav stated that with just 11 seats in the recent elections, the former CM’s return to power is a “pipe dream.”

“The PPP model is being adopted solely to expedite the completion of these 17 colleges that have been left in a dire state by the previous government,” the minister concluded. “This initiative is for the greater good, and spreading misinformation about it is highly inappropriate.”