Chennai: Asserting that the Centre had announced the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) project for Tamil Nadu “long ago,” Union minister of state for finance and shipping Pon Radhakrishnan claimed that the project will “certainly” come up in Madurai.
“It (AIIMS) was announced for Tamil Nadu long ago and even the site for the project was identified much earlier. Madurai is certain to get AIIMS,” Mr Radhakrishnan said on Monday. Speaking to reporters at Coonur (in Nilgiris district) in the state after inaugurating a health and wellness centre at Jagathala, the minister said there were however certain issues, which the state government should come forward to resolve.
Facing opposition heat for not implementing the AIIMS project in TN, BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan attempted to turn the tables on the DMK, saying the Dravidian major had done precious little to bring AIIMS to the state. She said the work is on in full swing to set up AIIMS at Thoppur in Madurai. “As it is a huge project entailing an expenditure of Rs. 1,500 crore, the work is taken as per the rules and regulations and institute would emerge soon,” she said.
After Independence for the last 70 years the Congress which had ruled the country, had opened AIIMS hospitals only at nine places in the country. But, the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a policy decision to establish AIIMS hospitals in 16 other places to provide qualitative medicare to the people. In the last four years the Central government has opened AIIMS at 10 places in the country, the BJP president added.
