Centre continues to parry queries related to AIIMS in Kerala

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continues to parry queries related to the approval for a proposal to set up an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala and the Left Democratic Front government’s suggestion to have it in Kozhikode.

Replying to a set of questions by John Brittas, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister J.P. Nadda on December 3 refused to clarify if the proposal would be cleared anytime soon. In August this year, Mr. Nadda had said that the Centre was considering it, but did not give a clear picture on its approval. It is not yet clear if the proposal will be cleared in the upcoming Union Budget as well.

Mr. Brittas asked whether the Minister of Health and Family Welfare had stated in the Rajya Sabha earlier that Kerala was being considered for setting up an AIIMS. He sought to know, if that was the case, what was the progress of the proposal and its timeline. Mr. Brittas also asked for the details of the location that had been identified.

The Minister, however, said that the institutes were being set up in different parts of the country under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) in phases. So far, proposals for 22 such institutes had been sanctioned. “The Kerala government has identified and proposed four sites at following locations for the establishment of AIIMS in the State — Kinalur in Kozhikode district, Kattakada taluk in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kottayam district and Ernakulam district. The proposal has not been approved in current phase of PMSSY,” the reply said.

Meanwhile, M.K. Raghavan, Congress MP for Kozhikode, again put forth a demand under Rule 377 in the Lok Sabha to expedite the works related to the AIIMS in Kerala. He had earlier raised a similar demand in August. The members are allowed to raise matters, which are not Points of Order or which have not been raised during the session under any other Rule. Mr. Raghavan pointed out that 200 acres had been acquired at Kinalur in Kozhikode for the institute and the whole area had been demarcated. Electricity, drinking water, and transport services are available there. He said that setting up an AIIMS in north Kerala had been a long-pending demand as the region does not have enough tertiary care healthcare institutions.