Kerala not insisting on specific AIIMS site to avoid delays: Minister

Kerala Devaswom and Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Friday said the state Government would not insist on locating the proposed AIIMS at any particular place, as it did not want regional disputes to delay the project’s allotment.

Speaking to reporters, Muraleedharan said the Government had submitted details of multiple proposed sites for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), including survey numbers, to the Union Health Ministry.

“We are not mentioning any specific location. We have pointed out locations. Including survey numbers, we have communicated the details to the Union Health Ministry. AIIMS can be established anywhere in Kerala and we will be happy with that because the project should not be lost over regional disputes. The Government has taken an open stance on this,” he said. Responding to queries on the Devaswom Recruitment Board, the minister said the Government had not taken any decision to transfer its recruitment powers to the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).

He clarified that the Government’s decision pertained only to the Guruvayur Devaswom, where the Kerala High Court had held that the Devaswom Recruitment Board Act was not applicable in view of the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, which had received Presidential assent in 1978.

“The previous Government had filed an appeal against the High Court judgment. We have decided that there is no need to spend public money pursuing an appeal before the Supreme Court. We have no objection to implementing the law that received the President’s assent in 1978,” Muraleedharan said.

“There is no obstacle to the functioning of the Devaswom Recruitment Board for other Devaswom Boards. Their laws were enacted by the State Government and were not subject to Presidential assent. Recruitment for those boards will continue through the Devaswom Recruitment Board,” he said.