Announced back in July 2003 by then health minister Sushma Swaraj under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the six additional AIIMS are yet to get off the ground. The financial approval was given in 2004-2005, and work was supposed to be completed within three years. With that deadline being crossed, the Government has now given two more years for the project.Experts are worried about the mounting costs. “Initially, the approximate expenditure estimate was Rs 280 crore for each institute. In March 2006, further financial projections were made and this was set at Rs 330 crore each. The price will further go up now to at least Rs 450 crore, as the prices of construction material have gone up manifold,” a senior official in the ministry said. One institute each on the lines of AIIMS is to be set up in the states of Bihar (Patna), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur), Chhattisgarh (Raipur) and Uttaranchal (Rishikesh). Initial studies had found that these places contribute maximum to the workload at AIIMS, Delhi. Each institution proposes to have a 850-bed hospital and intends to provide healthcare facilities in 39 speciality/super-speciality disciplines, apart from a medical college. While there would be 100 seats at the undergraduate level, PG/doctoral courses in various disciplines would also be available. Officials admit poor response of developers to their tenders as a major setback for the project.
