Land acquisition for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Kinalur in Kozhikode is expected to gain momentum in the coming days even though the Union government has not officially cleared the project.
The Kerala government recently issued an order for a social impact study on the 40.68 hectares of private land to be acquired for the institute. The Department of Revenue had earlier handed over 153.46 acres of government land to the Department of Health. The land had been given to the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, an agency under the Department of Industries, for setting up an industrial park years ago. The Department of Industries returned the land to the Department of Revenue, which transferred it to the Department of Health. These areas are spread over Kinalur and Kanthalod villages.
Since the Kerala government promised to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that it would set apart at least 200 acres of land for the institute, additional private land had to be acquired. The Ministry is learnt to have asked the government to speed up the land acquisition. It has already asked the Union Finance Ministry to give “in-principle” approval for the project. A final approval, however, is yet to be given.
Four locations
The Kerala government had identified four locations in the State for setting up the institute. This followed a request by the Centre to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to name places where the AIIMS can be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. A team led by the Director, Medical Education, visited Kinalur in July 2021. Later, the then Revenue Principal Secretary A. Jayathilak and Health Principal Secretary Rajan N. Khobragade visited Kinalur on August 14 and August 17, respectively.
