Kasaragod: In a shift from the previous LDF government’s position, the new UDF government on Monday said it was not rigid about establishing the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at any particular location in Kerala, a stand that could revive hopes of various districts, including Kasaragod district, which still does not have a tertiary health care facility. The new health minister K Muraleedharan, leaned on Palakkad.

“The (UDF) government has an open approach,” Muraleedharan said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. “Whichever place the Union government says is feasible, we are ready to acquire land for the project. We are not stubborn about any location,” he said. As per the Union Health Ministry’s guidelines, establishing an AIIMS requires around 200 acres of land.

The previous CPM-led LDF government was particular that the proposed AIIMS should come up in Kozhikode. For that, it identified around 151 acres of unused land with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at Kinaloor and Kanthalad villages in Panangad panchayat. In addition, a social impact assessment has recorded consent from private landholders to part with about 40.68 hectares (100 acres), comfortably meeting the land requirement.

Also, on February 4, the Kerala High Court directed a dilly-dallying Union government to conduct a feasibility study to examine whether the Kinaloor site satisfies the guidelines for AIIMS.

The Division Bench order came in a petition filed by the AIIMS Kasaragod Janakeeya Koottayma, a people’s collective that has been demanding that Kasaragod be considered for the premier health institute. The new Congress-led UDF government’s stand has now widened the debate beyond Kinaloor. "Our only objective is to ensure that AIIMS comes to Kerala. The previous government took a stance that AIIMS should come up at a particular place. We don’t have such demands,” he said.

Muraleedharan said the government was prepared to support any location found suitable by the Union government after the feasibility study. “In Kozhikode’s Kinaloor, the state government has already acquired some land. If the Union government is okay with that land, we are ready too,” he said. “Or Palakkad or Thiruvananthapuram, we are ready. Kasaragod too has been mentioned. Anywhere is fine for us. Land is the only criterion.”

Muraleedharan, however, elaborated on Palakkad as a potential site. "We had given up some land for the Railways. As the Union government had rejected the Railways’ suggestions, we have that land. I have not gone into the details of the suggestion, but if the Union government is okay with that land, we can start there. We are not allergic to any land,” he said.

In 2012, the Railways acquired 228.85 acres at Kanjikode for building a coach factory, as announced in the 2012-2013 budget. But now, the present Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Union government had no plans for a new coach factory as there was no demand.

Muraleedharan, however, took the opportunity to take a dig at Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi, who said he would quit politics if he did not bring AIIMS to Kerala before the end of his term (2029). "I think Thrissur is not in the fray. Even Thrissur’s MP is rooting for Alappuzha. We have no problem if it’s Alappuzha.”

Kerala’s demand for AIIMS dates back more than a decade. In 2014, the Union Health Ministry asked the state to identify possible sites with at least 200 acres of land and basic infrastructure. Over the years, Kinaloor in Kozhikode emerged as the preferred choice of the previous LDF government, which repeatedly wrote to the Union government seeking a feasibility inspection.

A Social Impact Assessment conducted in 2022 had also acknowledged that Kasaragod’s demand for AIIMS was justified, citing the district’s poor health infrastructure and economic backwardness.