Bhubaneswar: Health minister Mukesh Mahaling on Saturday said approval for introducing PG courses at five new medical colleges and hospitals (MCHs) in the state is an achievement for medical education in Odisha.“Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput has been allotted 28 PG seats, Govt MCH in Sundargarh 22 seats, Pabitra Mohan Pradhan Medical College and Hospital in Talcher 32 seats, Swami Laxmananada Saraswati Government Medical College and Hospital in Phulbani 27 seats and Dharanidhar Medical College and Hospital in Keonjhar has secured approval for maximum 44 PG seats,” the minister said.A total of 318 new PG seats have been approved for the 12 state-run MCHs, taking the total number to 938. Of the 318 PG seats, the five new institutions have received 153, nearly half the total.Mahaling said the introduction of the PG courses is expected to improve the availability of specialist healthcare in districts such as Koraput, Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Angul.“These institutions had no PG programmes and will now help train specialist doctors closer to underserved and tribal-dominated regions of the state. It will not only enhance medical education infrastructure but also encourage the retention of trained specialists in interior and remote regions, reducing dependence on major tertiary-care centres in Cuttack, Burla and Bhubaneswar,” he said.He added Odisha has 16 govt MCHs. “Other MCHs will also get PG courses and seats in the coming days,” he added.Among the three old medical colleges, SCBMCH in Cuttack received 17 additional seats, increasing its tally to 249, while Vimsar in Burla got 11 new PG seats, taking its total to 155. Principal H K Dalai of MKCGMCH in Berhampur, which did not see any increase in PG seats this time, said they will analyse the documents and take corrective measures while applying for PG seats next time.Director of medical education and training, Odisha, D P Satapathy said the three new MCHs in Puri, Bhawanipatna and Jajpur, which have also not received any PG seats, will apply again next year after rectifying the shortcomings. “I can comment on that matter after knowing why they did not get the new PG courses. Need to go through the files,” he said.