‘150 acres of land for AIIMS in Darbhanga in 3 months’

Patna: The state health department has decided to hand over the land identified recently for building AIIMS-Darbhanga in three months. It has also deputed an officer to coordinate between Darbhanga district and AIIMS administration.Nearly 150 acres of land near Shobhan-Ekmi bypass under Bahadurpur circle was identified by the government in January for the construction of AIIMS-Darbhanga, after which the health department wrote a letter to the district magistrate and asked him to carry out the necessary process.“This is a prestigious project and we want to do it in the minimum possible time. We have plan to hand over the fully acquired land in three months,” additional chief secretary (health) Pratyaya Amrit told TOI, adding the work related to acquisition has begun. When asked how long will it take for the AIIMS to come up, Amrit said the construction part will be taken care of by the AIIMS administration and the government of India.He said to ease the process and sort out any hurdle, they have also deputed an officer from the department to coordinate between the district administration and AIIMS administration. In one of the meetings held last week, the health department instructed the Darbhanga district administration to soon allot a residence to AIIMS-Darbhanga executive director.Union government had in September 2020 granted approval for AIIMS in Darbhanga, the second in Bihar after the one in Patna, at an estimated cost of Rs1,264 crore. Earlier, it was decided to build it on the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) campus. However, the Centre said it will build AIIMS separately. Later another location, the defunct Ashok Paper Mill land in Hayaghat, was also being discussed for the AIIMS. However, the health department said it will be allotting the land for AIIMS in Bahadurpur.Once ready, it will have 750 beds along with OPD, IPD and other health facilities. It will also have academic activities for medical and nursing students.