Jammu, Feb 06: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday announced the establishment of the Union Territory’s first Ayurvedic medical college in Sopore and a homeopathic college in Kathua, as part of a major push to expand AYUSH infrastructure under the ₹1.35-lakh crore budget for 2026-27.
Presenting the budget in the Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as per Kashmir Convener stated that the Ayurvedic college would be established at Amargarh in Sopore town of Baramulla district, while the homeopathic college would be built at Rakh-Hoshiari in Kathua. Work on both projects is scheduled to commence in the next financial year.
The capital expenditure for Health and Medical Education has been pegged at ₹1,866 crore. Omar Abdullah said the new colleges would “expand AYUSH education and care options” across J&K.
Sopore MLA Irshad Rasool Kar of the National Conference welcomed the announcement, terming it a “fulfillment of a long-pending public demand.” “This critical infrastructure was needed for years. I am pleased that sustained advocacy has led to its inclusion in the budget,” Kar told Kashmir Convener.
Soon after the budget speech, NC workers in Sopore celebrated the move, calling it a “milestone for north Kashmir’s healthcare landscape.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced a significant increase in medical seats—548 new seats will be added this year: 340 MBBS, 128 postgraduate, 34 PG (Ayurveda), and 46 DNB seats.
AIIMS Kashmir is set to be commissioned by June 2026. Additional MBBS seats have been allotted to GMCs in Srinagar and Jammu (20 each) and to GMCs in Doda, Anantnag, Baramulla, and Kathua (50 each).
Infrastructure at all Government Medical Colleges will be strengthened with a ₹216-crore outlay in 2026-27. Nursing education will also be scaled up with 10 new nursing colleges planned.
The Chief Minister listed several recently operationalized facilities: a 160-bed block at Bone and Joint Hospital Srinagar (₹140 crore), a 100-bed Mother and Child Care Hospital at Lamberi (Rajouri), and upgrades to SDH Billawar (100 beds), Nowshera hospital (100 beds), and the new 125-bed District Hospital at Reshipora, Budgam.
To boost diagnostics, the government has initiated the process to install 1.5 Tesla MRI machines in new GMCs and 3 Tesla MRI units at GMC Jammu, GMC Srinagar, and SKIMS. CT Scan machines are being installed in DH Budgam, SSH Srinagar, DH Poonch, SMGS Jammu, CD Hospital Jammu, and SMHS Srinagar, with plans for further expansion.
PET-Scan facilities will be installed at GMC Srinagar and extended to GMC Kathua in 2026-27 to enhance cancer care.
Mobile Medical Units and Mobile Dental Units have been proposed to improve access in remote areas. The SEHAT App, which integrates healthcare services on a single platform, has crossed 16 lakh users.
An allocation of ₹32 crore will establish 80 Telemedicine Centres to enable clinical consultations in far-flung regions. De-addiction OPDs are functional, with six new facilities under construction to expand substance-abuse treatment.
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