Kerala govt seeks Centreās permission to use forest land for Wayanad MCH expansion
Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has said that the State government has sought the Centreās permission to hand over 28 acres of revenue land to
Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has said that the State government has sought the Centreās permission to hand over 28 acres of revenue land to the Forest department in return for a similar parcel of land for the development of the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) at Mananthavady in Wayanad. Muraleedharan was in Kozhikode on Tuesday to open the State-level launch of āKayakalpamā, an outreach initiative to gather public opinion on the deficiencies in the health system and patient care services.
It also aims to seek suggestions on how health service delivery can be improved to meet peopleās expectations. Muraleedharan said the Wayanad MCH needed over 28 acres for forest land for its expansion. āHowever, the Forest department needs a similar parcel of land in return. We have now sought the Union governmentās permission to do so,ā he said. CSR funds for development Muraleedharan claimed that the government was planning to use corporate social responsibility funds for the development works in public hospitals.
He said the previous Left Democratic Front government had left behind crores of rupees as dues to be given to various agencies and others. āTill March 31, 2026, the government has to give ā¹2,017 crore to hospitals for insurance claims under the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP). Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd. has to be given ā¹476 crore. Distributors of surgical devices have stopped their supply after their dues crossed ā¹150 crore. This is even affecting surgeries to save those suffering from life-threatening diseases,ā he said.
Muraleedharan claimed that because of this situation, many private hospitals had either stopped accepting claims under schemes such as KASP or Medisep or were discouraging such admissions. The Minister also took a dig at Beyporeās LDF MLA P.A. Mohamed Riyas for his absence from the event. Virtual post-mortem Meanwhile, responding to a request from Shafi Parambil, MP, Mr. Muraleedharan said steps would be taken to launch virtual post-mortem examination procedures at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.
The BriefWire