MADURAI: The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposal to build an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai, paving the way for construction of the Rs 1,264-crore premier institution which will come up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana within 45 months.
The 750-bed institute will have 15-20 superspecialty departments, a medical college, AYUSH block, auditorium, night shelter, guest house, hostels and residential facilities. It will have Emergency/Trauma beds, AYUSH beds, private beds, ICU Specialty and Super-specialty beds.
Apart from providing top notch health care to around 1,500 outpatients a day, and 1,000 inpatients a month, the institute will help create an additional 100 MBBS and 60 BSc (nursing) seats. Welcoming the decision, State Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said that the first hurdle in the path of the ambitious project has been cleared.
Commenting on the next steps, he said, “The Centre, which has now given the financial sanction, would initiate the auction process to invite tenders for construction. The State govt will extend all cooperation at local level.”
The Cabinet decision comes nearly four years after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced construction of AIIMS campus in Tamil Nadu in his budgetary speech in February 2015.
Soon after, the State swung into action and drew up a list of five possible locations -- Chengalpet in Kancheepuram district, Pudukkottai city in Pudukkottai district, Sengipatti in Thanjavur district, Perundurai in Erode district and Thoppur in Madurai district.
Ending the speculation over site, the Centre on June 19 zeroed-in on 262.62 acres at Thoppur as the site for the proposed institute.
An RTI response Express received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in August revealed that Madurai district scored 82 out of 90 marks in an evaluation made by the selection committee appointed by the Centre to decide on AIIMS site.
According to the RTI response, details regarding budgetary allocation and time-frame on completion of AIIMS were left blank, indicating a further lag on part of the Centre to kick-start the process.