Photo for representational purpose only.
The government on Wednesday gave its nod to the establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, a move which aims at providing super-specialty health care to people of the state and creating a large pool of doctors.
The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of AIIMS under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at an estimated cost of Rs 1,011 crore.
"The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super-specialty health care to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and health workers that can be available for primary and secondary level facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM).
"This institute will also conduct research on prevalent regional diseases and other health issues and provide for better control and cure of such diseases," an official statement said.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the setting up of the hospital which will have a capacity of 750 beds and also include emergency or trauma and AYUSH sections.
There will be an administration block, AYUSH block, auditorium, night shelter, hostels and residential facilities. The cost estimate of Rs 1,011 crore does not include recurring costs -- wages and salaries and operation and maintenance expenses.
"This recurring expenditure will be met by the respective new AIIMS from their annual budgets through grant-in-aid to them from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of the Health Ministry," the statement said.
The setting up of AIIMS under PMSSY aims at correcting the regional imbalances in availability of affordable and reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country and to augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served or backward states.
Under this scheme, similar health facilities have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work on AIIMS, Rae Bareli is in progress.
Three new AIIMS at Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned last year.
Residents of 14 districts of Eastern UP and five districts of Western Bihar will be benefited by the establishment of new AIIMS.