At AIIMS Rajkot, a ‘leadership vacuum’: All 4 top administrative positions now vacant

The institute has been without a President for over a year now after Dr Vallabh Kathiriya resigned in August 2023, within a few weeks of his appointment.

Dr Kathiria, a former union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, was appointed president of AIIMS, Rajkot, on August 2, 2023. He resigned on August 20, 2023. At that time, he had told The Indian Express that the Centre had “requested” him to step down.

More recently, the institute saw the exit of the Deputy Director (Admin), Colonel Puneet Arora, who, The Indian Express has learnt, was repatriated to the Defence Ministry, rendering the post vacant a few weeks ago. The post of Administrative Officer fell vacant on October 14, after incumbent Jaydevsinh Vala was posted elsewhere by the Gujarat government.

On October 31, after Katoch went on “leave”, stating, in a message to colleagues, that the “outcome” on his resignation was pending, the Centre gave the additional charge of the Rajkot AIIMS to Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director of AIIMS, Jodhpur.

Dr Puri took physical charge of AIIMS Rajkot on Gujarati New Year’s Day, November 2, when he reached the city, said sources at the institution. On November 3, Dr Puri took rounds of the hospital and hostels of AIIMS Rajkot between 11am and 1.45 pm. Dr Puri did not respond to repeated requests for an interview from The Indian Express.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AIIMS Rajkot, Utsav Parekh, in an email response, confirmed that Dr Puri had taken charge at the Rajkot campus on October 31.

Parekh’s mail stated that the post of Deputy Director (Admin) “is being held as an additional charge by Associate Professor Dr Kuldeep GB since September 4, 2024.” This is after the repatriation of Col Arora.

The PRO further confirmed, “The post of Administrative Officer is vacant since October 14, 2024.”

Members of the Institute Body (IB) were not informed of the decision almost a week after Dr Puri took additional charge in Rajkot. “We have heard (about the change) but there has been no official communication so far, either from the AIIMS leadership, or from Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY),” a member of the IB said on Wednesday, pleading anonymity.

In a message to AIIMS Rajkot faculty on Sunday night on their WhatsApp group, Dr Katoch wrote, “Dear all, just for your info that I have put up my resignation two months ago due to health and personal reasons. Pending outcome of my resignation, I am proceeding on long leave, which has been sanctioned now. During my leave period, additional charge of AIIMS Rajkot as ED has been given to ED Jodhpur.”

The Indian Express also attempted to reach out to Dr Katoch multiple times through calls and texts, but he remained unavailable for comment.

The Indian Express repeatedly attempted to reach out to two senior officials of the PMSSY under the Union Health ministry that oversees the functioning of all the AIIMS in the country, Joint Secretary Ankita Mishra Bundela and Director Narendra Kumar Oza, but they remained unavailable for comment.

History of problems at AIIMS Rajkot

AIIMS Rajkot has been plagued with problems, not least being the inability to meet project deadlines since its inception. After the budget to set the campus up was allocated in 2018-19, it was approved by the union cabinet on January 10, 2019. The first batch of students was given admission in 2020. The OPD services started in December 2021.

However, delays marred the beginning of IPD (Inpatient Department) services, which were supposed to kick off in September 2022. Construction and other delays saw the timeline being extended by one-and-a-half years to February 25, 2024, when 250 beds were inaugurated by PM Modi. The full-fledged hospital is expected to hold 750 beds to cater to the entire Saurashtra area.