Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will set up a government medical college and hospital in Kalahandi district for which the Vedanta Group has agreed to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 100 crore towards infrastructure development for the college.
“I am happy to announce that the state government will set up a medical college in Kalahandi to provide access to health facilities for the people of Kalahandi. This will be a government medical college and the infrastructure will be provided by the Vedanta Group”, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told media persons after a meeting with Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agrawal at the State Secretariat here today.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, Agrawal said with the liberalization in the mining process, the Central and the state governments have initiated the process of mining auction.
"As we have waited for 10-12 years to get bauxite mining, we won’t mind if we have to wait for another 1-2 years," the Vedanta chief said.
Talking about the company’s plant at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, Agrawal said the output capacity of the plant is 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), which had been reduced to 2 MTPA due to acute shortage of ore. “We will raise the production capacity if we get the required bauxite ore,” he added.
Stating that he has a special attachment with Kalahandi district,Agarwal said his company is willing to take up a series of CSR activities. “We have done a lot of work and are willing to do even more for the people of this district,” he informed.
He further said the district needs better educational institutions and a medical college and hospital to provide better health services since currently the people have to take their patients to faraway places in the absence of any specialty hospital in the district.
“We have assured the state government that we would work for the infrastructure project of the proposed medical college and hospital for which we will invest Rs 100 crore. The hospital will be managed by the state government,” he said.