A Parliamentary Standing Committee has strongly recommended that the minister stay away from any direct involvement in the country’s premier medical institutions.
Panel says it would be better for the govt to not be directly linked with AIIMS-like institutes
NEW DELHI: In a major embarrassment to union Health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, a Parliamentary Standing Committee has strongly recommended that the minister and health secretary should stay away from any direct involvement in the country’s premier medical institutions like AIIMS.
During a meeting, the Standing Committee observed that with more AIIMS-like institutes on the anvil, it would be better for the government and its political leaders to stay away from getting directly involved in these institutes for their better functioning.
“The committee has noted that a host of conflicting issues have arisen in the existing statutory bodies, especially in AIIMS, concerning powers and functions of the director of the institute, the president, the governing body and the institute body because there is no clear-cut demarcation of their powers,” the committee has commented. The comment brings out the general feeling among the members who feel more such medical institutes will be caught up in conflicts with government if the present scenario continues.
The inference was clearly on the minister’s recent spat with AIIMS students and the ongoing tussle with director P Venugopal. The committee has instead recommended persons of eminence should be nominated into the institute’s panels. These persons can be representatives of medical faculties of Indian universities like Indian National Science Association, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences. But having a politician and bureaucrat on board is a strong “no-no.”
Though the Standing Committee’s report is advisory in nature, the recommendations can be seen as a major embarrassment for the health minister since it gives a clear indication of how Parliamentarians view his tussle with AIIMS.
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