Kerala HC asks Centre if better health care in State is a “handicap” for establishing AIIMS

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The Kerala High Court orally remarks that Keralam has the highest density of population in the country, and that the existing hospitals will not be sufficient to provide medical facilities to the needy and poor.

The State informed the Kerala High Court that in-principle approval had not been granted to Keralam for establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V.M. Syam Kumar enquired into the reason why Keralam was not prioritised for building an AIIMS, even though the matter had been pending for almost 10 years. The Bench was considering a petition seeking establishment of an AIIMS under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

The court observed that the matter was presently at the stage of inter-ministerial consultation and any decision for setting up an AIIMS could be taken only after the continuation of the PMSSY scheme for the next five financial years, FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, was approved.

In a previous order, the court noted that the idea of having an AIIMS in Keralam was raised in June 2016 and four locations were identified for this purpose. The court opined that Keralam should be considered on a priority basis considering the density of population, and asked the Union government to take a conscious decision concerning the proposal for the institute.

The Deputy Solicitor General of India, O.M. Shalina, informed the court that since Keralam had better health-care conditions than other States, the Union government was prioritising those States with a weaker health sector. At this point the court enquired whether the Union government’s stand was that Keralam did not require an AIIMS. The court orally asked whether the hospitals in the State were a disqualification or a ‘handicap’ to consider the establishment of the institute. The court orally remarked that Keralam had the highest density of population in the country, and that the existing hospitals would not be sufficient to provide medical facilities to the needy and poor.

The Union government responded that while considering all other States and Union Territories, Keralam’s status was much better, and that was the reason for the delay in approval. The court then enquired why there was an AIIMS in Delhi and two or three institutes in some other States, if the criteria was availability of medical facilities.

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