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HC directs govt to start AIIMS work in 90 days

PATNA — Taking a serious note of the inordinate delay in completion of Jai Prakash Narayan All India Institute of Medical Science (JPNAIIMS) here, the Patna High Court on Tuesday asked the union government to float fresh tender on the revised estimate and commence the  actual construction  of the proposed medical college and hospital complex in 90 days.

While hearing a PIL urging the court’s intervention for completion of JPNAIIMS project within a time frame, a division bench, comprising Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Sheem Ali Khan, directed the Union Government to file an action taken report (ATR) on the next date of hearing.

Complaining about the dilly-dallying attitude of the centre, M P Gupta, counsel for the petitioner, Council for Protection of Public Rights and Welfare, referred to earlier records which revealed that on May 15, 2006  the estimated expenditure was Rs 332 crore, which was  hiked to Rs 533.15 crore on February 25, 2009, but till date the actual construction work had not commenced. 

Blaming the Union and State governments for non-commencement of the construction work even five years after the foundation stone for the project was laid, Gupta said the estimate for the construction had been hiked by over 200 crore in last three years. He pleaded that accountability should be fixed on the officials responsible for the delay and loss of public money. 

The then Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had laid the foundation stone of the prestigious medical institute at Phulwari Sharif in Bihar on Jan 3, 2004 and Rs 300 crore  was allotted for the speedy completion of the project.

The proposed AIIMS in Patna was part of the central government project envisaging setting up AIIMS-like institutes in Patna (Bihar), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and Rishikesh (Uttarakhand).