The State Government has reportedly decided to establish the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Kerala at Kinalur, near Balussery, in Kozhikode district.
Already 150 acres of unused land is in the possession of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation on the Kinalur Industrial Estate. The Government has now notified that it would acquire another 100 acres for the purpose. The District Collector has been tasked to look into the acquisition process.
Earlier, a three- member committee chaired by Principal Health Secretary Rajan N. Khobragade had given a favourable report that the site is ideal for setting up AIIMS after visiting Kinalur in August.
Health Minister Veena George will visit the site on Saturday. However, a final decision on the proposal will be taken after a team of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare inspected the location, about 25 km from Kozhikode city, on the Koyilandy-Thamarassery-Edavanna State Highway.
Infra, other facilities
If the proposal become a reality, Kinalur would become an national-level hub for treatment facilities, studies and medical research. The State has assured the Centre that the location would be provided with infrastructure and transportation facilities and other utility services including power and water connections. It already has a substation of the Kerala State Electricity Board and is linked by the Japan-aided drinking water scheme.
A few years ago, the Government had identified four locations: the open jail compound at Nettukaltheri Thiruvananthapuram district, land at Kinalur, land belonging to the Government Medical College at Kottayam, and the HMT land at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district. This was following the announcement of the first Narendra Modi Ministry to establish AIIMS-like institutes in 10 States in 2014.
Currently, Kerala is the only major State in the country that does not figure on the list of AIIMS under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) scheme.
Officials said the proposed AIIMS at Kinalur would cater to the needs of people of six districts in north Kerala. Outpatient facilities could be started in the first phase and MBBS and postgraduate courses in a phased manner. This part, hundreds of job opportunities will be directly and indirectly created with the establishment of the new medical institute.
