New India Express Jan 21, 2015
HYDERABAD: It is official. As reported in these coloumns in July last, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will come up at the Bibinagar campus of the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Nalgonda district.
As per the AP Reorganisation Act, the Centre has allotted an AIIMS to Telangana as well as AP. The Union government has recently asked the Telangana government to identify land for the same and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday zeroed in on the upcoming NIMS facility at Bibinagar for it.“It is the best place for setting up AIIMS,” Rao said after inspecting the NIMS campus at Bibinagar and added that a proposal to this effect will be sent to the Centre soon. The NIMS facility is coming up on more than 150 acres at Bibinagar but to transform it into AIIMS, it would need another 50 acres at least. Before paying a visit to the NIMS campus at Bibinagar, Rao held a review meeting at the Secretariat and discussed the issue of setting up AIIMS in the State. Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister T Rajaiah was conspicuous by his absence at the meeting where it was decided to locate AIIMS at the Bibinagar campus of NIMS.
The Chief Minister left for Bibinagar soon after the meeting and Rajaiah, who was in Warangal, arrived at Bibinagar just about 15 minutes before Rao left for Hyderabad. AIIMS will be set up in nearly 200 acres initially and the State government also has plans to convert the same into a Health Smart City.
While reviewing the availability of land at Bibinagar and Kondamadugu, Rao said 400 acres was available but felt there was a need to acquire more land.
“As NIMS-Bibinagar is closer to Hyderabad and the Outer Ring Road and is also located on the Hyderabad-Warangal highway, the under-construction hospital is suitable for setting up AIIMS,” Rao reasoned and said the facility will be helpful for people of all the districts in Telangana.