Rajkot walks away with AIIMS, unlucky Vadodara misses out

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will come up in Rajkot, the hometown of chief minister Vijay Rupani, deputy CM Nitin Patel announced on Thursday. Vadodara was also a claimant for AIIMS, and the announcement ends the long suspense about where the premier facility would come up.

"We have received a letter from the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) informing us that the central government has selected Rajkot for setting up AIIMS in Gujarat," Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, told reporters. The hospital will benefit people of Rajkot and entire Saurashtra, he said further. Chief minister Vijay Rupani, who is from Rajkot, welcomed the Centre's announcement.

"Happy to share that Gujarat gets its first AIIMS. Thank you, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi hi for being benevolent to the people of Gujarat as always. With AIIMS, Rajkot adds one more facet to its identity," he wrote on Twitter shortly after the formal announcement.

The proposal to set up AIIMS in Rajkot or Vadodara was approved several years ago, but a decision was delayed as political leaders from both cities wanted it to come up in their city.

In addition to chief minister Rupani, state BJP president Jitu Vaghani is also from Saurashtra. He represents the Bhavnagar West seat in the legislative assembly. Incidentally, an announcement regarding Rajkot being allocated AIIMS just two days before Jasdan bypoll had led to the Election Commission seeking an explanation from BJP. It began with Vaghani telling reporters in Rajkot that the central government had decided to set up AIIMS in Rajkot. This was followed by energy minister Saurabh Patel describing the development "as a very good thing".

"I thank prime minister Narendra Modi that Rajkot has been given AIIMS," he had said. However, the announcement has not gone down too well with MLAs from Vadodara, who feel that the city was a better choice for AIIMS.

"We were demanding AIIMS in Vadodara looking at the city's requirement. The Sayajirao Hospital in Vadodara has a capacity of 1,500-1,600 beds, but number of patients is much higher. There are also more than 3,500 out door patients per day on an average. For cancer and heart treatment, patients have to go to Ahmedabad. Now that Rajkot has been chosen for AIIMS, we will ask the government to provide AIIMS-like services in Vadodara," seven-term BJP MLA from Manjalpur seat in Vadodara, Yogesh Patel, told DNA. The deputy CM said it was understandable that MLAs want AIIMS to be set up in their areas, and they had a right to make representation about it.

"The Railway University is coming up in Vadodara. A sports complex is also being developed. Other works are being undertaken in different cities for balanced development," he said.

What others said

Shailesh Mehta, BJP MLA from Dabhoi seat in Vadodara, said, "Eight of us (MLAs) had given a representation to CM Vijay Rupani two days ago demanding that AIIMS should come up in the city. Now that an announcement has been made, we will meet again and decide."

Vadodara MP Ranjan Bhatt said she was happy that Gujarat had finally got an AIIMS.

"Vadodara is the hub of central Gujarat, and an AIIMS here would also have benefitted patients from surrounding districts. At the same time, Ahmedabad and Surat are near Vadodara, and medical facilities are available. There is no such medical facility in entire Saurashtra, and AIIMS in Rajkot would benefit the entire region," she said.

The opposition Congress also welcomed the announcement, but said that it should have been made in the first year of the Modi government. "The announcement will benefit the state. The announcement has been made just before elections, and we hope that work on it begins at the earliest," State Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said. Another BJP MLA Jitu Sukhadia too said that Vadodara was a better choice for the institute.

"We were pressing for AIIMS in Vadodara, but the government has chosen Rajkot. The institute in Vadodara would have benefitted central Gujarat as well as the tribal districts," the MLA from Sayajiganj said.

Deputy CM Nitin Patel, said, "AIIMS in Rajkot will prove a boon for entire Saurashtra region that required a good medical facility. Prime minister Narendra Modi

had resolved to give AIIMS to Gujarat, and the announcement was made during the union budget three years ago. We are glad it is becoming a reality."

State BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said, "We thank the PM for allocating the project to Rajkot. It will make specialty treatment available and accessible for people of Rajkot and Saurashtra. Residents of the area will not have to travel to Delhi or Mumbai for treatment of serious ailments."

Seema Mohile, BJP MLA from Akota, said, "We are happy that Gujarat has got AIIMS. It is a big deal. Of course, we would have been happier if Vadodara had been allocated the institute. It would have benefitted even people from surrounding states."

The AIIMS would come up at Khandheri on the outskirts of Rajkot city. The state government would provide 120 acre land free for the Rs1,200 crore project. It will comprise a medial college, research centre, and an ultra-modern super speciality hospital of 800 to 1,000 beds.