MADURAI: Madurai MP S Venkatesan demanded the union government on Monday, to allocate the revised budget for Madurai AIIMS in the upcoming budget session.
On addressing the media persons at the CPM party's office in Madurai, S Venkatesan said the union government is continuously being partial towards Tamil Nadu with regard to constructing Madurai AIIMS. They are purposely delaying the work by not allocating the revised budget of Rs 1,977 crore, which was announced last year. Of this, JICA shares Rs 1,627 crore, and the rest Rs 350 crore will be borne by the union government. Initially, it was around Rs 1,264 crore. So, the union government should allot their share for Madurai AIIMS, in the upcoming budget session on February 1.
He criticised that not even a compound wall has been constructed fully over the past two-and-half years. "Recently, Rs 2.5 crore was allocated for renovating an existing building of the Government Tuberculosis Hospital in Thoppur, a project cell, and project management consultancy, as an eye wash.
In the last three years, they had stressed the union government more than 17 times to speed up the work and address the questions being raised in the parliament regarding the same. Unfortunately, 2021 medical batch students of AIIMS, who study in Ramanathapuram Medical college, will not be able to see the AIIMS hospital, till they complete their degree in 2026," he added.
To sort out the issue, he said they will be holding a demonstration on January 24 at Pazhanganatham, by putting forth the query 'Where is our AIIMS?'. In the protest, MPs B Manickam Tagore, Navaskani, CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan and DMK MLA G Thalapathi will extend their support.