Nine Madhya Pradesh medical colleges could become private assets, MACP alleges

Bhopal, September 17 – The Marxist Communist Party (MACP) has issued a stark warning that the Mohan Yadav government in Madhya Pradesh is preparing to move nine government‑funded medical colleges into private ownership.

State secretary Jaswinder Singh pointed to a series of recent deaths—including over twelve tribal children in Balaghat and fatal incidents in Shivpuri and Rewa hospitals—as evidence of the state's lack of concern for public health.

The party contends that instead of addressing vacancies for physicians, upgrading hospital facilities, and ensuring a steady supply of medicines, the administration is set to hand over the entire health infrastructure to private hands. The institutions listed—Neemuch, Singrauli, Shyopur, Mandla, Rajgarh, Budni, Damoh and Chhatarpur—have collectively consumed approximately four thousand crore rupees of public funds in their construction.

MACP notes that this is not the first time the state has flirted with privatization. Earlier, the Yadav government announced a PPP model for eleven district hospitals, a decision later withdrawn after widespread protest. A similar PPP initiative for Ujjain medical college in 2021 under the Shivraj Singh Chauhan regime also faced opposition and was subsequently cancelled.

Furthermore, only a few months ago the government approved the privatization of 19 community health centres in three districts, a step that continues to meet strong public resistance. Singh warned that during the COVID‑19 emergency, private nursing homes either collapsed or engaged in looting, leaving government hospitals as the only reliable providers of care. The current push toward privatization, he argued, places the lives of citizens in danger.