Sun Oct 26 16:19:10 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka Greenlights Medical College in Kanakapura, Ramanagara Project Faces Delay
Bengaluru, October 26, 2025 (The Hindu): The Karnataka state government has approved the establishment of a new medical college in Kanakapura, while the fate of a previously planned medical college in Ramanagara remains uncertain. The cabinet gave its administrative approval to the Kanakapura Medical College, granting it autonomous status and allocating 150 undergraduate MBBS seats. The project, estimated to cost ₹550 crore, will encompass a medical college, a 300-bed hospital, student hostels, staff quarters, and other essential facilities. Funding for the project will be entirely provided by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).
The Kanakapura medical college has been a point of political contention, with a previous administration diverting the project to Chikkaballapur. The current Congress government, particularly Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, has spearheaded the effort to reinstate the college in Kanakapura.
The proposed medical college in Ramanagara, intended to be built on the RGUHS campus, has faced significant hurdles. Despite initial plans to establish colleges in both Ramanagara and Kanakapura, proposals submitted to the National Medical Commission (NMC) in both 2024-25 and 2025-26 were rejected due to insufficient infrastructure and lack of qualified staff.
Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil confirmed the Kanakapura project’s progress, stating, “Tenders will be called soon, and construction work will start. The work will take at least two years to complete. After that, a proposal will be submitted to the NMC seeking approval for the start of operations at the college.” He further clarified that the Kanakapura college will be built independently of the existing taluk hospital due to the hospital’s limited bed capacity.
Regarding the Ramanagara project, Dr. Patil acknowledged the previous rejections and stated, “Construction work on the new campus of RGUHS in Ramanagara is already in full swing, and the medical college will be ready by January 2026. We will recruit the necessary staff and open the medical college in Ramanagara next year in collaboration with the district hospital.”
The Minister also announced plans for a new medical college in Bagalkote and the establishment of two mental health hospitals, modeled after NIMHANS, in Mysuru and Kalaburagi.
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