CPI(M) sore over UDF government proposing four locations for AIIMS in Kerala
Health Minister K. Muraleedharan recently said that the United Democratic Front-led government had informed the Centre that land was available at Kinalur (Kozhikode), Kattakkada (Thiruvananthapuram), Kakkanad (Ernakulam) and Alappuzha for the institute. He also said that the government would not insist on any particular location. The State would provide land, and the Centre can inspect it and take a call, the Minister told the Assembly recently.The CPI(M)’s Kozhikode district secretariat, however, has criticised this move, calling it an attempt to “marginalise Kozhikode, and Malabar in particular, in order to serve certain vested interests”. Party leaders claim that the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had already identified 252 acres of land in Kinalur and Kanthalad villages for the purpose. All basic infrastructure is available there, including electricity and water. There is connectivity to the Kozhikode Railway Station and the Calicut International Airport, also. These facts have already been communicated to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, they claim.The CPI(M) leaders point out that 151.52 acres of land available at Kinalur with the Kerala State Industrial Corporation have been handed over to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME). Steps to acquire another 100 acres adjacent to this land, which is in the custody of private individuals, have begun as well. The environmental impact assessment survey has been completed, and a notification under Section 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, has been issued. Assessing the value of the land, buildings, and properties in this area is underway. Once this is complete, another 100 acres can be handed over to the DME, the CPI(M) leaders say.Meanwhile, P.A. Mohamed Riyas, the CPI(M) and the LDF’s lone MLA in Kozhikode, also objected to the State government’s identification of multiple sites. Speaking in the Assembly recently, he pointed out that the LDF government identified Kinalur in Kozhikode after a detailed study. However, Health department sources justified the move, saying the Union government delayed a decision on AIIMS because the State had insisted on one location. The four locations were proposed so that the Central team can identify one among them, they added. Published - July 02, 2026 08:27 pm IST
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