CM admits to have recommended Sengipatti for AIIMS- In The Hindu Chennai 16.6.2017

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/ponmudi-puts-edappadi-in-a-spot-with-revelation-on-aiims/article19078919.ece

CM admits to have recommended Sengipatti for AIIMS

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday conceded that he had recommended to the Prime Minister that the proposed centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) be set up at Sengipatti in Thanjavur district. However, the perusal committee had not accepted the recommendation and sought details about alternative sites, he told the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister said the government would welcome establishment of the institution in any of the other four sites identified for the purpose.

Recently, the ruling party MLAs from Madurai had threatened to resign en masse if the AIIMS facility was not established in Madurai. Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, who hails from Madurai, had backed the demand.

During a debate in the House on the issue, DMK MLA K. Ponmudi (Tirukoilur) sought a clarification from the government on the location of the proposed AIIMS hospital, as there were conflicting opinions over the issue. The senior legislator startled everyone in the House including Mr. Palaniswami and Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar by reading out the Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister recommending Sengipatti as an ideal site for locating the AIIMS.

Intervening, Mr. Palaniswami said he had only recommended Sengipatti so that the proposal to establish AIIMS was not scrapped for want of an ideal location. “The committee has not accepted Sengipatti too. They have sought more information on other sites,” he said. According to him, AIADMK (Amma) MLAs from Madurai district, who were pushing for AIIMS in their district, were not aware of his communication to the Prime Minister.

Earlier in the day, during a related discussion, Mr. Vijaya Baskar said the central committee had made it clear that 200 acres of land, rail, road and air connectivity and water supply were major requirements for the proposed institution.

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“The (Madurai) legislators may have said something because they are working in the interest of their respective constituencies. But, the central committee would decide on the final location,” the Minister added.