Eleven years of wait; AIIMS still remains a dream for Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala's eagerly awaited AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) remained a dream in this year's central budget as well. Kerala has been waiting for the AIIMS promised in 2014 for eleven years. The state has prepared the facilities requested by the centre by acquiring 252 acres of land in Kinalur, Kozhikode. It has been three years since the Union Health Ministry handed over the recommendation to grant AIIMS to the Finance Ministry.

The announcement is being delayed due to the state's lack of consensus on where to set up AIIMS. People's representatives from Kasaragod, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Kozhikode are lobbying the Centre for AIIMS. There has been a demand for Kasaragod for the endosulfan victims, Kozhikode for the seven districts of Malabar and areas including Coimbatore, Coorg, and Thiruvananthapuram as it would also benefit Tamil Nadu. The central government postponed the decision, suggesting a consensus.

The central government's promise in 2014 was that it would allocate AIIMS if provided with 200 acres of land. The state had demanded that Kerala's AIIMS be transformed into an integrated learning and research centre, including Ayurveda.

Two for UP

• Uttar Pradesh has two AIIMS. One each in Gorakhpur and Rae Bareli. Including these, there are 26 AIIMS in the country.
• The government has acquired 153 acres of Industries Department land and 99 acres of private land in Kinalur for AIIMS.
• UDF government had identified land in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.

''Our demand is fair. AIIMS should be sanctioned without delay. Kerala has all the qualifications''

-Pinarayi Vijayan

Chief Minister