A loan agreement has been signed between the Government of India and the Government of Japan for setting up an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai, revealed a reply to a Right to Information Act query submitted by R. Pandiaraja, a social activist.
A source from the Health Department confirmed to The Hindu that the loan agreement was signed between the two governments for the construction of the AIIMS in Madurai in the last week of March.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for AIIMS in January 2019. There was a delay in its construction due to a delay in the signing of the loan agreement between the two governments. The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which will be funding the project, conducted a preparatory survey in February 2020.
Earlier, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Joint Secretary (AIIMS) Nilambuj Sharan communicated to Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan that the loan agreement between the two governments would be signed by March-end.
The Prime Minister, who spoke at a public campaign in Madurai on April 2, said a state-of-the-art infectious diseases block would be established at the AIIMS.
Earlier, the Union Health Secretary had communicated to the Madurai MP that the estimated budget of the project would increase from around ₹1,200 crore to around ₹2,000 crore, due to plans to construct an infectious diseases block.
Mr. Venkatesan said it was anticipated that Mr. Modi would speak about the status of the agreement during his visit to Madurai on April 2, but no announcement was made. “No Cabinet approval too was given for increasing the estimated budget of AlIMS to around ₹2,000 crore. So how can the loan agreement be signed without the Cabinet approval for the increased estimated budget?” he asked.