Miners’ health instt merges with NIOH in Gujarat

Nagpur: In line with the NITI Ayog policy to strategically unite institutions conducting research and development (R & D) in similar fields, the Union Cabinet, on Wednesday, has approved to dissolve Nagpur-based National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), an autonomous Institute under Ministry of Mines (Mom) and merge it with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad coming under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH & FW).
Senior officials at NIHM have welcomed the move, as this institute dedicated to miners’ health will now officially join the ministry of health and family welfare.
“The merger of NIMH with NIOH will prove beneficial to both the Institutes in term of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health. NIMH will get a range of benefits in central health research schemes,” said Anupam Agnihotri, Director of Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) who is also holding additional charge of Director NIMH.
The central government has made it clear that NIOH will take over NIMH with all assets and liabilities; and absorb all the employees in the similar post/pay scale and their pay be protected. However, a large section of officials in the field of mining and health are not in favour of shifting the Nagpur-based set-up of NIMH to Ahmedabad. Instead, they have suggested developing Nagpur centre as a specialized wing of NIOH dedicated to miners’ health.
“Merging NIHM into NIOH will be a good step. It will bring NIMH under the hat of health ministry. Nagpur centre at present has 14-member permanent staff and 14 others working on contract basis,” informed a senior official of NIMH.
NIMH has 19 years of expertise in miners’ health. It is formally registered under Karnataka Societies Registration Act as an “autonomous body” as it was established in Kolar Gold Mine in 1990. In 2002, its central laboratory started at Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) campus at Nagpur. NIMH shifted most of its functional units to Nagpur but it still maintains the registered office at Kolar Gold Fields.
For Nagpurians, who are closely associated with NIMH, the shifting will be a loss for the city.
“Shifting of NIMH is a loss for Nagpur. Central India is full of mining activities and Nagpur is the best place for the institute dealing with miners’ health. Moreover, youngsters from city interested in health research will lose an important national institute,” said Dr Anjali Salve-Vitankar, who is a member of ethics committee of NIMH.
“Instead of moving out from Nagpur, this should be developed as regional centre,” she suggested.
Many employees and officials working at NIHM have also suggested the same so that the Nagpur set-up remains intact. As central government is the only decision-making body in this regard, these officials have demanded that members of Parliament representing Nagpur should raise this issue.
MERGING IS FINE, NOT SHIFTING
NIMH is autonomous body under ministry of mines, govt of India
Being a health research institute, government wants to merge it with ministry of health
Govt proposes merger with NIOH, dedicated to health research for all occupations
NIOH has headquarters at Ahmedabad and regional centres at Bengaluru and Kolkata
If NIHM merges in NIOH and shifts its base from Nagpur, it will lose its autonomy as well as specialization in miner’s health
Nagpur will lose national health research institute and mining fields in Central India will ultimately suffer
Suggestion to merge NIMH into NIOH but develop Nagpur as third regional centre
Specialization in miners’ health for Nagpur centre, with other occupational health research too