MADURAI: While local people are jubilant that an All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (
AIIMS) will be set up at
Thoppur in
Madurai district of
Tamil Nadu, a recent
RTI reply has revealed that the decision to set up the hospital is just on paper with no proper approval.
In his RTI application to the ministry of health and family welfare dated September 5, 2018, activist K Hakkim sought to know the number of AIIMS hospitals established across the country and the details about the one that is going to be established at Thoppur.
On Saturday, he received a reply dated September 28 which states that there are 14 AIIMS hospitals across the country.
It says no clearance has been obtained from the
cabinet and the expenditure finance committee in establishing an AIIMS at Thoppur. Hence, it could not give details of the fund allocations or the contractors who are to carry out the work.
Hakkim said he had filed the RTI to know the status as elections were nearing and the delay in initiating the work would mean hindrance to the entire process of setting up the multi-speciality hospital in Madurai.
Chief co-ordinator of AIIMS for Madurai People’s Movement V S Manimaran said the RTI reply had come as a big shock. “The cabinet has met twice after the announcement of the hospital for Madurai and the approval is pending, which shows some purposeful delay,’’ he said.
Manimaran said the state government’s lack of interest in the project coming to Madurai was apparent. He said officials in the central ministry had told the movement that the Tamil Nadu government was still trying to make the Centre change the location.
“Health minister Vijaya Baskar has gone to New Delhi several times but has not spoken about it. Now we have decided to visit New Delhi next week and urge the ministers concerned and others to initiate the project immediately,’’ he said.
A Asokan of Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam said, “If the work is not started immediately and the elections are announced, the project will be delayed. In that case, it is likely that the project may not even come to Madurai.”
