The Union Health Ministry has sought in-principle approval from the Union Finance Ministry for setting up India's premier medical education and research centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), in Kerala.
Currently, the AIIMS has 19 centres in different parts of the country. The proposal for launching 22 more AIIMS centres in different states is actively under the consideration of the Centre. The Centre aims to start the units in a phased manner.
There has been a long-standing demand for setting up an AIIMS unit in Kerala.
If given clearance by the Centre, the AIIMS unit would come up at Kinalur in Kozhikode district. Around 200 acres with the State Industries Department would be made available for the project, Health Minister Veena George said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently wrote a letter to the Centre saying the land was ready for the project. The Chief Minister raised the demand for the setting up of the AIIMS unit during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last July.
A team led by Medical Education Director Dr Thomas Mathew had visited Kinalur on July 18. On August 14, a team led by
Revenue Principal Secretary A Jayathilak and on August 17, another team led by Principal Health Secretary Rajan N Khobragade visited the site.
Vadakara MP K Muraleedharan also raised the issue of setting up the AIIMS unit at the recently-held meeting of the Estimates Standing Committee of Parliament.