*Gets LoP from Ministry of AYUSH
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 28: Jammu and Kashmir’s first Government Unani Medical College is all set to start functioning from academic session 2020-21 with 60 seats in UG (BUMS) course as Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India (GoI) today issued Letter of Permission (LoP) in favour of the college.
The Permission was granted to the College on the recommendations of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) which carried out an inspection of the Institution on December 1-2, 2020 to assess the available facilities of teaching and practical training for conduction of Under Graduate (UG) course and to verify the compliance of shortcoming noticed earlier.
As the CCIM team found the College was having fulfilled notified and approved criterion for issuing Letter of Permission for conducting UG course from the academic session 2020-21, it recommended the Government of India to grant LoP to Government Unani Medical College and Hospital, Shalteng (Srinagar) to start 1st batch of 60 UG seats from academic session 2020-21.
While issuing LoP to the College, Government of India also made it clear that minimum 15% of Under Graduate seats of the permitted intake capacity of 60 seats shall be treated as all India quota and the counseling for these seats shall be conducted by the Central Government while counseling for remaining 85% seats shall be conducted by counseling authority of J&K UT.
“However, if any seat is not filled up in the Central counseling, the same shall be transferred to counseling authority of J&K to admit students as per their rules/ reservation/policies/ norms,” read a communiqué by Ministry of AYUSH (GoI) to Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department, J&K.
Pertinent to mention here that proposal for establishing Government Unani Medical College was submitted to Government of India in 2008. Accordingly, the Government of India in 2009 approved establishment of Government Unani Medical College in Kashmir on 50:50 basis with an estimated cost of Rs 32.50 cr.
In the year 2010-11, GoI accorded sanction to Unani Medical College and construction work of the building of the College was started by J&K Housing Board on 78 kanals of land at Nawabagh (Ganderbal) in the year 2011-12.
In the year 2016, when almost half of the structure of the Unani Medical College was ready, the J&K H&ME Department applied for grant of permission from the GoI to start 1st batch of BUMS course in Unani Medical College on make shift basis and accordingly the inspection team of CCIM visited the College campus and Associated Hospital (Government Unani Hospital, Shalteng, Srinagar) in February 2017 but due to several shortfalls, the permission was not granted and the Department was directed to apply fresh.
Accordingly, after completing all the requisite formalities, a fresh proposal was submitted to Ministry of AYUSH by H&ME Department vide its application dated 28-05-2019 seeking permission to start 1st batch in Unani Medical College and in the meantime most of the gaps as per CCIM regulations were fulfilled.
Subsequently, the J&K H&ME Department again requested the Ministry of AYUSH for issuing Letter of Permission (LoP) to start the first batch of BUMS course in the College vide its letter dated 11-08-2020 and accordingly, the CCIM, Ministry of AYUSH vide its communication dated 19-08-2020 issued LoI to start first batch of BUMS course with 60 seats in Government Unani Medical College from the academic session 2020-21 subject to fulfillment of requisite pre-conditions as per the laid down norms of CCIM before the inspection team for issuance of Letter of Permission.
Terming it a great achievement, sources said now the students from J&K need not to go outside J&K or take admission in private colleges to study Unani System of Medicine. However, they regretted that it took Government of J&K over a decade to start Government Unani Medical College, Shalteng.
Starting of the first batch in Unani College took place due to constant efforts under the command of Financial Commissioner Health & Medical Education Atal Dulloo. Director ISM Dr Mohan Singh completed the formalities for the batch.
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