Kasaragod: Taking offence to viral videos and photographs of the Kasaragod Medical College Hospital block -- an unpainted, weather-stained structure choked by undergrowth and untouched since 2022 -- State Health Minister Veena George released a six-minute video response listing out what the LDF government did for the district in the past 10 years.

“Footage of an incomplete building is being circulated on social media, claiming that it is the Kasaragod Government Medical College. This is misleading, as the visuals show ‘only one block’ of the medical college,” the minister said. What she does not say is that, for the people, that is the most important block -- the Medical college hospital block.

On January 17, the Medical College Action Committee, a people's collective leaning towards the UDF, staged a cheeky protest for social media at the campus in Ukkinadka, a border village in Badiadka panchayat. The protesters ran out of the neglected building shouting ‘ghost ghost’. It set the narrative, and soon Instagram users started driving to the campus, 25 km from Kasaragod town, to create their own posts, dubbing the block ‘ghost building’.

On Tuesday, January 27,‘influencers’ on social media are taking out a protest march -- Kasaragod District Health Freedom Struggle -- to the Collectorate to protest against the delay in building the Medical college hospital.

Minister’s defence and reality
Veena George said the construction of this particular block had been stalled for the past four years due to a legal dispute pending before the High Court. Though the foundation stone was laid in November 2013 by the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the construction work was started by the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. “However, the work was disrupted during the COVID pandemic, following which the contractor approached the High Court with a writ petition. From 2022, the matter remained under litigation, with the contractor filing further petitions,” said the minister.

The dispute was resolved a few months ago, in 2025. “Once the legal hurdles were cleared, a fresh tender was floated, and steps are now being taken to finalise a new agreement. The process is in its final stage,” she said and added, “Until the case was settled, it was not possible to resume construction on the building.”

Her statement can be broken into several parts, and not all of them may sit well with the facts.

She did not reveal why the contractor approached the High Court in 2022, and again in 2025.

Court documents indicate that the delay began with the LDF government citing a lack of funds for the medical college hospital in Kasaragod, forcing the Erode-based contractor, RR Thulasi Builders, to stop work.

Thulasi Builders first approached the High Court on February 9, 2022. The court documents reveal that the work was held up not because of the pandemic but because the government was not clear about the contractor’s bill worth at least ₹6 crore.

On July 21, 2022, the contractor told the HC that the government claimed ₹3.27 crore was disbursed, but it was not paid.

On August 19, 2022, the government pleader admitted before the court that “the earlier submission that the amounts due to the petitioner had been paid was a mistake”.

Judge Arun directed the government to clear the dues before September 4, 2022, if possible, and “in any event” before September 19, 2022.

The Directorate of Medical Education, under Minister Veena George, issued a cheque that was “dishonoured when presented at the Treasury”.

Miffed, the HC, on October 14, 2022, ordered the officer responsible to be present at the next hearing if the bills were not cleared.

In the next hearing in November 2022, the government cleared a portion of the dues.

On January 11, 2023, even when the dues were pending, KITCO, the government’s consultancy and implementing agency, told the court that the mechanical, electrical and plumbing works were awarded to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS).

On February 28, 2023, the government informed the court that it owed RR Thulasi Builders “more than ₹ 6 crore”. It also admitted for the first time that “due to paucity of funds, the entire amount cannot be released”.

Yet, the court directed the government to release the money in three weeks, or else “the work may come to a standstill”.

As the court case dragged on, the builder and the government entered into an out-of-court agreement on August 11, 2025, to settle the dues.

But the builder is still before the court seeking interest on the dues held up for four years. According to the minister’s statement, the dues might have been cleared, and a new company is being signed up to complete the work.

In 2023, the government sanctioned ₹169 crore through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) for the hospital block.

But at no point during the civil case did the court say that the work should not be carried out without clearing the bills.

The people of Kasaragod need tertiary healthcare, but even 12 years after the foundation stone was laid, the district still does not have a medical college hospital.

Medical college without a hospital
In October 2025, classes for the first batch of MBBS students commenced with 50 students at the Government Medical College, Kasaragod. The minister said the college received approval from the National Medical Commission after the government met all prescribed norms. However, with the hospital block now standing as a “ghost building”, the General Hospital in Kasaragod town has been designated as the teaching hospital. The General Hospital is nearly an hour away from the medical college campus at Ukkinadka, even though NMC norms stipulate that a teaching hospital must be located within 30 minutes of the college block.

Hostels for students and teachers are a must. The civil construction work on the women’s and staff hostels is complete, but the electrical work is still pending.