Telangana to knock on Delhi door with fresh plan

​Hyderabad: The Telangana government has to send a fresh proposal again to Centre on AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) if it wants the NIMS, Bibinagar be considered as part of premier institute set up.

The Health Ministry will have to examine the proposal, send architects and engineering experts to the State to inspect the existing facility in Bibinagar and assess requirements and modifications that have to be made so that it could be considered and prepare a report. This has to be sent again to Cabinet for a final nod. 

It may be mentioned here that as part of AP State reorganisation promise, Telangana was allotted AIIMS and both State and Centre are working in tandem to finalise the location to establish the premier medical institute. With over 150 acres already acquired and partially built infrastructure, TRS government is keen on allotting the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Bibinagar facility, which is yet to be fully operational, for establishing AIIMS.

The contention of government was NIMS, Bibinagar land was best suited and advantageous over any other vacant land simply because AIIMS project could be expedited and completed in a short time. After Telangana government communicated to the Centre about the proposed location, a Central team flew down to take stock of the situation at NIMS, Bibinagar on Wednesday. 

According to government sources, the delegation comprising Sunil Varma (joint secretary, Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), Sachin Mittal (director, PMSSY), Dr DK Sharma (medical superintendent, AIIMS-Delhi), GP Srivastava (superintendent engineers, AIIMS-Rai Bareli) and Mukesh Vajapayee (senior architect, Ministry of Health, GoI) went around the hospital premises and found interior works are still yet to be completed.

It is learnt that they were satisfied with Bibinagar location, easy connectivity from Hyderabad, nearness to airport etc. As far as usage of existing infrastructure was concerned, there was no assurance from the Central team. It is learnt that they pointed to lack of central air-conditioning facility for the entire premises, chute and limited gas pipeline network etc. In State hospitals only, some wards like ICU, operation theatre have AC facilities, but the entire premises in AIIMS including general wards have centralised AC.

Construction works in cellar, G+1 and G+2 have been going on for some time now and Central team is understood to have told health officials to make modifications as per AIIMS standards. To this, State health officials insisted on some written understanding so that they could spend money without any doubts. With State showing only just NIMS Bibinagar site, the Central team returned to national capital immediately. 

They told State officials that they would be submitting a report to the Union Health Ministry shortly. Former NIMS director Dr D Raja Reddy hoped that due formalities would be completed in coming months. Most of the time Centre would give weightage to State's proposal for a new project and in all likelihood Bibinagar is the front-runner for establishing the prestigious institute, he felt.