No budget announcement for AIIMS Keralam: Centre tells HC
Kochi: The Central Government informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday that a proposal for establishing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Keralam under the PMSSY scheme has not been included in any budget announcement.
The Centre also told a bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M that a proposal to extend the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) for another five years is presently at the stage of inter-ministerial consultations.
"It is most respectfully submitted that any decision for setting up of a new AIIMS can be taken only after the approval of the continuation of the scheme is communicated and funds allocated therein, reports PTI.
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In an affidavit filed in response to two pleas by two public action groups seeking setting up of an AIIMS in Kasaragod or Kottayam, the Centre said, "Thereafter, in accordance with the policy decision, requisite proposal can be processed for consideration of the Cabinet''.
The bench noted that the proposal to establish an AIIMS in Keralam has been pending before the Centre since 2016 and directed that a decision be taken on it without further delay by taking into consideration the needs of the state.
Advocate K K Subeesh, representing the AIIMS Kasaragod Janakeeya Koottayma, said that the Centre also told the court that it was prioritising states with weaker healthcare for setting up AIIMS, and Keralam has good healthcare infrastructure.
In its affidavit, filed through Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) OM Shalina, the Centre has said that the PMSSY scheme aims to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary healthcare services in different parts of the country and to augment facilities for quality medical education.
It contended that under the scheme, to strengthen and expand the tertiary healthcare facilities in Keralam, super speciality blocks were approved and set up in the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode medical colleges as well as the Government T D medical college in Alappuzha.
"Further, under Phase V-A of the scheme in 2017, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram has been upgraded by way of construction of a 170-bedded Super Speciality Block.
"These facilities have significantly contributed in augmenting tertiary care facilities in the state of Keralam." it said.
The central government further said that the Keralam government had since 2014 identified four locations -- Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam disricts -- for setting up an AIIMS and in 2025 indicated its preference for Kinaloor in Kozhikode to set up the premier medical institute.
"The Ministry of Finance, Government of India was consulted in the matter in 2019 and 2020. However, the proposal for establishment of AIIMS in Kerala under PMSSY scheme has not been included in any budget announcement till now," the central government said in its affidavit.
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