Will super speciality hospital in Chennai be restored to original status as TN Assembly?

CHENNAI: The State government on Thursday announced that it would establish a new Rs 250-crore worth multi-purpose super speciality hospital for south Chennai at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine & Research, Guindy, to mark the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

According to official sources at the health department, the King Institute is currently functioning as an exclusive Covid hospital. Only after the cases decrease, steps may be taken to add additional departments and specialities. “It is a long process. After Covid cases reduce, we will get a clarity on how this will take shape as a multi-speciality hospital,” said sources.

Presently, an exclusive 525-bed Covid facility is functioning out of the campus. Apart from this, the institute also processes RT-PCR test samples. The facility was established by former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami during the first wave of the pandemic.

The move has however, given rise to speculation in some quarters that the super speciality hospital at Government Omandurar Estate, located in the northern part of the city, may be restored to its original status as the State Assembly cum Secretariat complex. However, senior officials in the State government said so far, there is no hint about this and that it is unlikely in the present situation.

When asked about the possibility of restoring the Assembly hall and secretariat complex at the Omandurar estate, a senior official told Express, “As of now, there is no hint on this proposal. Since the new Assembly hall cum secretariat complex is a pet project of late CM M Karunanidhi, who took extraordinary interest in its building, it would remain a historical place for the present ruling party. So, perhaps after the pandemic subsides and after steps for building the new super speciality hospital at Guindy gains momentum, the issue may come up.” 

The complex was built in 2010 to mark Karunanidhi’s completion of 50 years as a legislator. The former CM had taken personal interest in the construction of this complex and got it inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on March 13, 2010.

‘Shifting was done for admin convenience’

However, 17 months later in 2011, the AIADMK government, led by J Jayalalithaa, converted the set of buildings that housed the Assembly and the secretariat departments into a super speciality hospital. On May 20 that year, Jayalalithaa justified her government’s decision to bring back the Assembly hall and secretariat to Fort St George and denied allegations that she had effected this out of political animosity against the previous regime.

“The shifting was done mainly for administrative convenience,” Jayalalithaa had said and observed that it was the DMK which stalled all the efforts taken by her previous government to construct a new Assembly complex. Three months later, on August 19, 2011, Jayalalithaa announced that the new Secretariat complex, now kept unused, will house a super multi-speciality hospital on par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), to cater to medical needs of the poor and downtrodden, and for running a new medical college.

Changes
Jayalalithaa announced that the new Secretariat complex, now kept unused, will house a super multi-speciality hospital on par with AIIMS, to cater to medical needs of the poor

Other announcements

• A library in memory of Karunanidhi in Madurai
• Ilakkiya Maamani award to be instituted in Karunanidhi’s name
• A house for award-winning writers in districts they choose
• Paddy godowns to be set up at regulated market across TN
• Free bus travel extended to transpersons, differently-abled