PPP Medical Colleges: Investors Ignore Govt Assurances!
Make a note of this. There is no chance of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government coming back to power in Andhra Pradesh. It will not come… we will not allow it to come. These are the words being repeated by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and another minister Nara Lokesh. Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Lokesh have also been saying that industrialists who want to invest in the state are afraid of what would happen if Jagan returns to power, and that now their fears have been dispelled. Recently, Pawan Kalyan too publicly declared that YSRCP will not come back. However, it has now come to light that there is a gap between what they are saying and the ground reality. If there is one issue that has been creating a storm in Andhra Pradesh over the past few months, it is the decision taken by the coalition government led by Chandrababu to hand over newly established government medical colleges to private institutions under the PPP model.
On this issue, YSRCP not only launched sharp criticism but also undertook a programme in the name of a one-crore-signature campaign and submitted a representation to the Governor. In addition to this, Jagan Mohan Reddy warned that if they come to power, those who take over colleges under the PPP model will be sent to jail. He also threatened that those who do so would have to pay a heavy price. Cut to the present, when the government issued notifications to hand over four colleges under the PPP model, bids were submitted for only one college. That too was for the construction of the Adoni Medical College. KIMS submitted bids for this. For the colleges at Markapuram, Madanapalle, and Pulivendula, there was no response at all. This development has now come as a shock to government circles.
With these latest developments, discussions are going on in official circles that investors appear to be more afraid of Jagan’s threats than willing to trust the words of Chandrababu, Pawan Kalyan, and Nara Lokesh. Whatever the reasons may be, the fact that three colleges received not a single bid, and even the one that did receive bids got only a single bid, is seen as clearly sending a wrong signal—an opinion that is being expressed even by TDP leaders. Until recently, Chandrababu and Nara Lokesh had been proudly claiming that industrialists were looking towards Andhra Pradesh purely because of their credibility. But the real situation has now been exposed in the matter of medical colleges. On the other hand, it is also known that the government announced it would open escrow accounts and even provide sovereign guarantees—something not done anywhere else in the country—to ensure that industrialists face no difficulties, along with offering incentives and concessions.
Because of these measures, those setting up industries in the state would not face major problems. Keeping these facts in mind, the government has been claiming that industries are coming to the state because of its policies and image. Overall, looking at the medical colleges episode, doubts are arising as to whether anyone is really trusting the words of Chandrababu and Pawan Kalyan. It appears that the threats issued by YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy have been more effective. With private institutions not coming forward in a big way to take up medical colleges under the PPP model, it has now become interesting to see how the government will move forward.
