Union Minister evasive on AIIMS in Telangana
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel did not give any assurance to the Telangana government regarding the setting up of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). She was in Hyderabad on Friday to launch the Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) scheme in the State.
Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel did not give any assurance to the Telangana government regarding the setting up of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). She was in Hyderabad on Friday to launch the Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) scheme in the State.
Special Chief Secretary (Health Department) Rajeshwar Tiwari brought the issue of AIIMS to the notice of Anupriya Patel during the programme. According to officials, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the sanctioning of AIIMS to the Telangana State in February is year. But, the Union government did not earmark the budget for AIIMS in the 2017-18 budget.
TRS MPs A Jitender Reddy and B Vinod have been pursuing the issue of establishing AIIMS with the Union Health and Finance ministries since the formation of Telangana State. Earlier, the Union government had rejected the State government’s proposal to convert or upgrade the existing NIMS Hospital into the AIIMS. Later, the State government had identified 1,000 acres of land on a single stretch at Bhongir, 50 km away from Hyderabad.
However, the Union government had sanctioned Rs 1,618 crore for AIIMS in Andhra Pradesh with 900 beds. The first phase of construction of AIIMS would be completed by December 2018 and the AP government is planning to start admissions in AIIMS by June 2018.
According to Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) web portal, after formation of NDA government, four new AIIMS institutions were announced during the Budget speech of 2014-15 under Phase 1V.
Later, under Phase-V, six new AIIMS have been announced during the Budget speech of 2015-16, one each in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Moreover, under Phase-VI, two new AIIMS were announced during Budget Speech 2017-18 one each in Gujarat and Jharkhand.
A senior official of Health Department said that they would build AIIMS within a year if the Union government allocated funds in the budget.
Replying to a question, Anupriya Patel told The Hans India here on Friday that they were establishing the AIIMS in all the States step by step. There was no delay in allocating budget for AIIMS to Telangana State, she added. The Centre would consider the State’s proposal certainly, she added.
