AIIMS Awantipora construction faces time crunch as deadline nears

Srinagar, Dec 17: The ambitious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Awantipora project in south Kashmir, aimed at bolstering healthcare infrastructure, is racing against time to meet
the government-set deadline of January 2025.

The Union Health Ministry said that only 44 percent of the construction work had been completed, raising concerns about the timely completion of this vital health sector project. “It is to be seen as since 2019 only 44 percent of work has been completed, the executing agencies will manage to complete the project on time or not,” said an official.

AIIMS Awantipora, following the timeline of AIIMS Jammu, has been allocated a deadline by the Government of India.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar, disclosed in a written reply that 92 percent of the civil construction work for AIIMS Jammu had been accomplished.

However, the situation is less promising for AIIMS Awantipora, with 56 percent of the work still pending as per the latest estimates.

In response to questions, Pawar revealed that the J&K government had approved the establishment of five medicities in J&K. Additionally, he shared that 1450 faculty and non-
faculty posts had been sanctioned for AIIMS Jammu, of which 549 had been filled. One MRI machine has been delivered to AIIMS Jammu.

An official said that the construction work on AIIMS Kashmir was progressing at a “full speed”.
“Despite obstacles such as a legal dispute over land acquisition for the access road, a clampdown post-Article 370 abrogation, and issues with a nearby army base, the official stated that the proj-
ect has been accelerating in recent months,” he said.

The official highlighted that the work pace needs to be maintained for the next year to meet the December 2024 completion target.

The J&K government has taken a significant step by formally sanctioning the transfer of 3998 kanal of land in Pulwama and Samba districts to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the construction of two AIIMS facilities.

The AIIMS Kashmir project, approved in 2019 with an estimated cost of Rs 1828 crore, includes the construction of dozens of buildings, providing essential healthcare infrastructure.

Upon completion, AIIMS Awantipora is expected to add 1000 beds, including 300 super-specialty beds, to the healthcare capacity in Kashmir. It will also host a medical college with a capacity for 100 students and a nursing college accommodating 60 students.

The Government of India, in tandem, has created 94 faculty posts and 244 non-faculty posts for the AIIMS project in Kashmir under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).