AIIMS to come up near Madurai at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore

Tiruchirapalli: The Tamil Nadu government has announced that the much-anticipated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will come up at Thoppur near Madurai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

The AIIMS was due for Tamil Nadu as announced in the Union Budget 2015-16 but faced delays over its location, with demands being made by various sections for it to be set up in different places.

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami thanked Prime Minister the Centre for selecting Thoppur for this purpose. “The 750-bed modern facility will be set up at Thoppur near Madurai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore,” Palaniswamy told mediapersons. The institute will also have a teaching facility attached to it with 100 MBBS seats.

Palaniswami pointed out that a central team had earlier visited five locations, including those in Madurai, Erode and Pudukottai districts, before zeroing in on Thoppur. He assured the Centre of all support from the Tamil Nadu government in setting up the proposed facility.

In a letter to the prime minister, Palaniswami said the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa was very keen that an institution of the stature of AIIMS was established in Tamil Nadu to provide quality medical education, research, and high-end tertiary healthcare in the public sector for the benefit of the poor and middle-class.

Palaniswami said he had directed state Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Principal Health Secretary, J Radhakrishnan and other senior officials to provide all necessary support to the Centre to facilitate early commencement of work.