AIIMS: Thiruvananthapuram no longer under consideration; three other districts in race

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kasaragod, Thrissur and Kottayam are being considered as possible locations for the proposed AIIMS in Kerala. Minister K. Muraleedharan informed the Assembly that the reports submitted by the respective district collectors, which will be forwarded to the Centre, are currently under the consideration of the Chief Minister.

The locations being considered include 274.69 acres of land belonging to the Plantation Corporation at Periya Panayal in Kasaragod; the land occupied by the Government Press, Vaiga Threads and Koratty Government Hospital in Thrissur; and 487.31 acres belonging to Kerala Paper Products Limited (KPPL) at Velloor in Kottayam.

According to the minister, Thiruvananthapuram is no longer under consideration as the Supreme Court has directed that 75 per cent of the land adjacent to the Nettukaltheri open prison be allotted to BrahMos.

The 630-acre Manakkal paddy field area at Purakkad in Alappuzha is also not currently under consideration. It may be considered if the district collector submits a report, Muraleedharan said. At least 200 acres of land are required for the project.

Replying to a calling attention motion raised by G. Sudhakaran, the minister expressed hope that the Centre would take a favourable decision on the proposal.

Protests were raised by K.K. Rema and Praveen Kumar over the exclusion of Kozhikode from the list of possible locations. Praveen Kumar questioned why Kinaloor was not being considered, while Rema asked whether Kozhikode was not among the locations under consideration.

The Speaker clarified that G. Sudhakaran's calling attention motion was specifically aimed at raising the demand for an AIIMS in Alappuzha and that the demands for other locations could be considered later.