Mumbai News: BMC Proposes New Medical College at Govandi’s Shatabdi Hospital Under PPP Model

Mumbai, May 16: In a significant step towards strengthening healthcare and expanding medical education access in Mumbai’s underserved areas, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed the establishment of a new medical college in Govandi, attached to the Shatabdi Hospital. If approved, this would be Mumbai’s seventh medical college and the first-ever in the city’s eastern suburbs.

The proposed college is planned to be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The BMC has already issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting private stakeholders to participate in the project, which would house 100 medical seats.

Dr. Chandrakant Pawar, Chief Medical Superintendent of BMC’s peripheral hospitals, confirmed the development, stating that the civic body is currently awaiting responses to the EOI. “This move is aimed at improving healthcare infrastructure and providing greater access to medical education in the city’s eastern belt,” Pawar said.

Currently, Mumbai has two state-run medical colleges — Grant Medical College and St. George Medical College. Additionally, the BMC independently operates four colleges attached to major civic-run hospitals: KEM, Sion, Nair, and Cooper hospitals. In recent years, the state government has also established new medical colleges in Ambernath and Raigad, while the Thane Municipal Corporation operates one in its jurisdiction.

If the Govandi project comes to fruition, it will fill a longstanding gap in medical education availability for students from Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, while also addressing healthcare delivery in the area.

In a separate development, five employees working under the disability quota in BMC’s education department have been declared ineligible following a fresh medical re-assessment. The reassessment, conducted under a broader statewide review to curb misuse of disability reservations, revealed that these individuals had less than 40% disability, the minimum required under existing norms.

Of the 135 employees hired under the disabled quota, 34 underwent the new evaluation, and these five were found to no longer meet the eligibility criteria.

The review is part of a systematic effort to ensure transparency and fairness in public recruitment under reserved categories and may trigger similar assessments in other departments across the state.