Approval for AIIMS in TN; Palaniswami thanks Modi

: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Union Cabinet's approval for establishing an All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) facility in the state.

He assured all necessary support for the Rs 1,264 crore premier super speciality health facility to ensure that late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's "long cherished dream" was realised.

"My government will provide all necessary support to facilitate the early commencement and completion of the project so that the long cherished dream of my revered leader Puratchi Thalaivi Amma is realised," Palaniswami said in a letter to Modi.

He thanked the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu and on his own personal behalf for approving the AIIMS, which will come up at Thoppur in Madurai.

Palaniswami said Jayalalithaa was very keen that such a prestigious institution was established and made functional in Tamil Nadu.

The Cabinet decision and financial approval accorded on Monday has taken the project to the next stage, he added.

The Union cabinet had on Monday approved establishment of two AIIMS facilities--one each in Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Each new AIIMS will add 100 Under Graduate (MBBS) seats and 60 BSc (Nursing) seats and will have 15-20 super speciality departments.

Each new facility will add around 750 hospital beds and serve around 1,500 outpatients daily.

The time frame for establishment of the new AIIMS will be 45 months, broadly comprising a pre-construction phase of 10 months, a construction phase of 32 months and stabilisation/commissioning phase of three months.

Construction of new AIIMS will be fully funded by the central government.