The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court was on Friday informed by the State government that the land for establishing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur in Madurai district had already been handed over to the Centre. It was confirmed by the Centre at the hearing of a public interest litigation petition that sought to expedite the construction.
Additional Advocate-General K. Chellapandian said the foundation was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 27, 2019. Then, a proposal was sent to “enter” the 200 acres identified for the project. Further, 22.49 acres of additional land was identified.
In August 2020, the State received a communication from the Centre to hand over the land. Following a communication to send the handover certificate, it was prepared and sent to the Centre for being signed and returned on November 3. A communication in this regard had already been made, Mr. Chellapandian submitted.
Confirming it, Assistant Solicitor-General L. Victoria Gowri submitted that the Cabinet had approved the establishment of the AIIMS at Thoppur at a cost of ₹1,264 crore in 2018, and the project was to be completed within 45 months of the date of Cabinet approval. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was financing it.
The pre-investment work was at an advanced stage, and the representatives of the JICA fact-finding mission met in November. The loan agreement would be signed before March 31 next, Ms. Gowri said.
Taking cognisance of the submissions, a Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and B. Pugalendhi asked why there was a delay in the project when it was announced in 2015. The establishment of the premier health institute would not only benefit Tamil Nadu but also the whole of south India, they said.
The judges also took note of the media reports on the reply to a question made under the Right to Information Act that the State was yet to hand over the land to the Centre.
The judges wondered how such a communication was sent. The court said it would pass a detailed order on the petition filed by K.K. Ramesh, of Madurai, who sought a direction to expedite the work.
Health Secy.’s response
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said, “I spoke to the Union Health Secretary. We have given all documents for land, survey number-wise. They have taken up pre-investment activity at a cost of ₹15 crore, and are involved in constructing a compound wall. The work is 90% completed. Due to COVID-19, they could not countersign the documents and send. They have clarified that they have to countersign. The JICA could not come for the pre-appraisal activity.”
