THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a notable push to resolve a decade-long infrastructure bottleneck, Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan announced on Monday that the state government is willing to establish the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in any district deemed suitable by the Union Government.
The declaration signals a shift in strategy by the newly formed, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) administration, which has prioritized clearing procedural hurdles to expedite the premier medical institute’s approval.
A Flexible Blueprint for Land Identification
The state’s revised policy explicitly moves away from insisting on specific regional preferences, offering full operational flexibility to the Union Health Ministry:
The State’s Stance: “There is land available in many districts in Kerala. We want AIIMS anywhere in Kerala. We are not keeping any condition,” Muraleedharan stated, adding that even districts like Palakkad would be entirely acceptable if selected under central feasibility reviews.
While emphasizing unconditional cooperation, the Minister indicated that Alappuzha remains a strong prospective candidate for the project based on regional healthcare access maps. Conversely, addressing rumors surrounding a potential footprint in Thrissur—represented by Union Minister Suresh Gopi—Muraleedharan clarified that no official recommendations or formal requests have been received from that quarter.
De-bottlenecking Suspended Medical Projects
Beyond the AIIMS framework, the Health Minister focused on reviving other stalled central welfare initiatives across the state. He specifically cited a proposed ₹500-crore Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) hospital, alleging that the project had faced extensive bureaucratic delays under the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government due to procedural complexities.
Muraleedharan affirmed that he, alongside Kollam Member of Parliament N.K. Premachandran, will lead upcoming technical meetings to rapidly clear the outstanding compliance checks and jumpstart construction.
Context: Shifting Away From the Kinaloor Plan
Kerala has persistently lobbied the Centre for an AIIMS allocation for more than ten years to elevate its tertiary healthcare and medical research capacity. However, the project has historically stalled over spatial parameters, local land acquisition protests, and final technical clearances:
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The Previous Layout: The prior LDF administration had formally acquired and proposed a site at Kinaloor in the Kozhikode district as the state’s primary pitch for the institute.
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The Union Position: Despite the Kinaloor submission, the Union Health Ministry informed Parliament last year that no AIIMS allocation had been finalized for Kerala under the current phases of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
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Judicial Scrutiny: The ongoing delay previously drew the attention of the Kerala High Court, which sought formal clarifications from the Union Government regarding the long operational timeline despite repeated, cross-party resolutions from the state.
By removing strict regional boundaries, the state executive aims to present a blank slate to central teams, aiming to convert the long-delayed healthcare project into an active development asset.
