The government had proposed to construct a communicable diseases hospital at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur here, which had led to an increase in the estimated budget of the project from around ₹1,200 crore to around ₹2,000 crore, said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Joint Secretary (AIIMS) Nilambuj Sharan to Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan.
Mr. Venkatesan met both the officials to submit a petition and discuss expeditious construction of AIIMS in Madurai. The officials said that the proposed communicable diseases hospital was yet to get Cabinet approval and administrative sanction. “The officials said that the proposal for constructing a communicable diseases hospital came up after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. I have urged them to provide the administrative sanction for this proposal at the earliest,” Mr. Venkatesan said.
The officials also said that the loan agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Japan for sanctioning funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the construction of AIIMS would be signed by the end of March.
The MP also requested the officials to appoint an an Executive Director, a Medical Superintendent, a Deputy Director (Admin) and an Administrative Officer for AIIMS, Madurai, so that administrative works could be undertaken by them. “The officials have guaranteed that these administrative officials will be appointed immediately after the loan agreement with the JICA is signed,” he said.
Mr. Venkatesan stressed the need to commence admissions at AIIMS, Madurai, in 2021.
