Madras HC issues notice to Centre on PIL to expedite construction of AIIMS Madurai

Chennai: Observing the prolonged delay in the construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai, the Madras High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the central government on a petition seeking an order to speed up the institute's construction. 

In this regard, the court has sought a response from the central government since the construction of the institute had been delayed for almost 9 years due to various reasons and no steps were taken to expedite the construction. 

A division bench of Justices D. Krishnakumar and Vijayakumar ordered this notice after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by KK Ramesh of Madurai.

The petitioner said that in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the AIIMS Hospital in Madurai, but the construction work has not started yet, ANI reports.

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"AIIMS Madurai should be completed quickly within the time set by the court. Penalties should be imposed on government officials who hide the truth and make false statements in construction work. Also, a special resolution should be ordered in the Parliament for allocating funds for the construction of AIIMS Hospital," Ramesh said in his petition.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the institute was finally expected to be completed by 2028, with its construction to begin by December 2023 and the tender for the construction was also floated. However, the petitioner here alleged that the construction has not yet started. 

In December 2018, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of an AIIMS facility in Thoppur under the Thirupparankundram Assembly constituency in the Madurai district. The project was approved under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at a cost of Rs 1,900 crore as reported by the Medical Dialogues team.

The foundation stone for the AIIMS in Madurai was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he paid a visit to the district in January 2019. The then AIADMK government provided 199.88 acres of land for the project and another 22 acres additionally sought by the Centre.

Meanwhile, talking about the developments regarding the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said that its construction will be a "show-off for the upcoming elections."

"In 2015, they announced AIIMS, but now only contracts have been done. It has been 9 years. When they build AIIMS, it will be a show-off for the upcoming parliament elections. Because we ask these questions, they (BJP) are fighting with DMK", Stalin said.

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