New Delhi, January 20, 2017: The AIIMS on Tuesday joined hands with the NBCC Ltd for developing a housing complex for the staff at its western campus, amid protests by resident doctors who are opposing the government’s policy of selling 10 per cent institutional land for commercial use.
Terming the signing of the MoU as “a historic moment,” Union Health Minister JP Nadda said many development proposals of AIIMS had turned into reality in the last two years.
Union Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the project would change the face of AIIMS.
“The professors, teachers and staff working here want better accommodation and facilities. Taking them away to Noida and Ghaziabad and asking them to commute from there is not going to be of any help because they need to focus and concentrate on their research work,” Naidu said, reacting to the protests while he was speaking.
“This issue was pending for years as we could not reach a conclusion because for building houses we need money and the resources of the government are limited. We are giving land to NBCC so that they can redevelop, create modern houses and better facilities and not for any destructive purpose. I don’t understand why some people are opposing this. After all, NBCC is an arm of the government,” Naidu said.
Under the memorandum of understanding, NBCC will build 3,928 apartments in Ansari Nagar, West Campus, for the staff of the country’s premier institute on over 65 acres of land, at an estimated cost of ₹4,441 crore.
In turn, about 2.9 acres out of 29 acres of institutional land would be given to NBCC for commercial use. NBCC will charge10 per cent of the final project cost as project management consultancy (PMC) fee and 1 per cent for the marketing expenses on total fund realisation from the sale/lease of built-up area.
Meanwhile, members of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) had a minor scuffle with the security guards when they tried to force their way into the auditorium where the MoU was being signed.
“We just wanted to send three of our representatives to hand over the memorandum before the MoU is signed but the administration did not allow us. We were protesting peacefully but the security guards tried to remove us from the lobby, which led to a minor scuffle between the resident doctors and security guards,” AIIMS RDA president Vijay Gurjar said.
“We oppose the decision of selling 10 per cent of the land allotted to the institution for commercial purposes as this is totally against the Constitution of AIIMS and is being imposed without consensus among the resident doctors, faculty members and research students,” he said.
RDA has also called a general body meeting to decide its further course of action – Hindu Business Line
