New AIIMS coming up in Tamil Nadu; PM Modi to lay foundation stone today

The hospital will be built at a cost of Rs 1,264 crore; Centre to launch a slew of Centre-sponsored projects in the state

With the Lok Sabha election fever catching up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding a public rally in Tamil Nadu on Sunday and will lay foundation story for a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state.

His visit will be watched closely as there are rumours that the ruling faction of AIADMK may go with the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Modi will arrive in the temple town of Madurai, a stronghold of Dravidian parties, on Sunday morning to lay the foundation stone for the new AIIMS, which will be built at a cost Rs 1,264 crore and is expected to go on stream in 2022.

It will be a 750-bed hospital with a long-term focus on post-graduate and higher education and research. The hospital will have a capacity of 100 MBBS seats and 60 for BSc (Nursing).

Modi will also inaugurate super speciality blocks at the Rajaji, Thanjavur and Tirunelveli Medical Colleges.

The project cost to upgrade the three other medical colleges is Rs 450 crore.

According to the Centre, these projects are a part of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana which aims to set up 20 AIIMS, of which six have been established, and to upgrade 73 medical colleges across the country.

"It will be an opportunity to showcase the developmental projects brought to Tamil Nadu by the BJP-led central government," H Raja, the Bharatiya Janata Party National Secretary, told reporters.

He said nearly 10 million people have benefitted from the Mudra loan scheme in Tamil Nadu and that 3,000 km of highway projects are being implemented in the state. That apart, many families have received gas connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.