After Suresh Gopi, G Sudhakaran bats for AIIMS in Alappuzha, points to surprise location

Ambalappuzha MLA G Sudhakaran has recommended a brand new location for the construction of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Already, places like Pallippuram (within Aroor Assembly constituency) in Alappuzha are under consideration. Sudhakaran has suggested 630.9 acres of Manakkal paddy field at Purakkad, which falls within his Ambalappuzha constituency.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi has also chosen Alappuzha as his preferred district for an AIIMS. However, he has not zeroed in on any particular location.

Through a Calling Attention Motion in the Assembly on Thursday, Sudhakaran has pointed to a vast continuous area just north of Thottappally Spillway as an apt spot for an AIIMS. He said that over 400 acres of this land had already been acquired by the government. "We need to pay for just 220 acres," he told the Assembly.

Sudhakaran said that the place, which has now grown wild and infested with snakes, was ideal as it was just 500 metres away from the national highway. And it is just two kilometres from the Ambalappuzha-Tiruvalla MC road, he said.

Health minister K Muraleedharan said that till now there had been no proposal regarding the 630 acres of Manakkal paddy field at Purakkad in Alappuzha. "Now that a senior member like G Sudhakaran has made such a proposal, the district collector will be asked to give a detailed report on the appropriateness of the Purakkad land," the health minister said.

In 2014, on the basis of a central government directive, land was scouted for an AIIMS in four districts in Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In 2017, the land in the possession of KSIDC at Kinalur in Kozhikode was recommended as the most ideal for the AIIMS project. The previous LDF government was also in favour of Kozhikode as the AIIMS location in Kerala.

The health minister said that the Union Health Ministry had in 2024 requested the Union Finance Ministry to grant in-principle approval for the establishment of an AIIMS in Kerala. Nonetheless, such an in-principle approval has not yet been granted. As recently as July 2026, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Lok Sabha that though the land in Kinalur had been identified, the proposal for establishment of AIIMS in Kerala had not been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana scheme.

The Centre's stand is that AIIMS is allotted to rectify inadequacy of tertiary healthcare facilities, adverse health indicators, regional imbalance in tertiary care and shortage of medical colleges or apex referral institutions. In all these parameters, Kerala has scored high and, therefore, its own achievements have ruled out an AIIMS for Kerala.

After the UDF government assumed power, the Health Department was asked to draw up a detailed proposal after identifying suitable locations for AIIMS in Kerala.
"On the basis of this report we have handed over the details of 10 locations to the Union Health minister (J P Nadda)," Muraleedharan told the Assembly.

He said that the Centre had found as ideal the land near Nettukaltheri Open Jail in Thiruvananthapuram. However, this land has been ruled out for the AIIMS. A recent Supreme Court order has said that nearly 75 per cent of this land should be handed over to BrahMos Aerospace.

The district collectors of Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Thrissur and Alappuzha were then asked to submit a detailed feasibility study. Till now three locations have been recommended by district collectors: 487.31 acres in the possession of KPPL (Kerala Paper Products Limited) at Veloor in Kottayam, 276.69 acres of Plantation Corporation of Kerala land in the Periya-Panaya area of Kasaragod and the lands in the possession of Chalakkudy Government Press, Vaiga Threads and Koratty Government Hospital which the Thrissur district collector said could be acquired and suitably rearranged for the construction of AIIMS.

The Alappuzha district collector was asked to assess the suitability of lands in places like Pallipuram, a process that has not been completed. The Alappuzha collector will now also have to assess the fitness of the land Sudhakaran has proposed. The reports of Kottayam, Kasaragod and Thrissur district collectors are now under the Chief Minister's consideration.

The land identified to establish an AIIMS should satisfy certain conditions. One, the land should be a continuous sprawl of at least 200 acres and must be free of encumbrance. Two, easy connectivity to the national highway, railway station and airport. Three, drinking water and power availability.