Harsimrat blames govt for delay in work on Bathinda AIIMS project

BATHINDA: Amid delay in starting construction of building for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has slammed the state government for not giving clearance for transfer of a chunk of land for the project and diverting a water course.

Harsimrat, who is local MP and had made efforts to bring the AIIMS to Bathinda, on Tuesday visited the site of the project to take stock of the progress of work. She regretted that only the boundary wall has come up at the site, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in November last year.

The previous SAD-BJP government had initially announced to set up AIIMS in Kapurthala but on Harsimrat’s insistence it decided to take the premier institution to Bathinda.

Harsimrat alleged that the Congress government was not giving a no-objection certificate for diverting a water course passing through the project site and not transferring chunk of land owned by the sports department where an approach road is to be made. “This is resulting in delay in preparing the detailed project report, consequently delaying allotting tenders to start the work.”

UNION MINISTER ACCUSES STATE GOVT OF NOT GIVING CLEARANCES FOR TRANSFER OF A CHUNK OF LAND FOR PROJECT AND DIVERTING A WATER CHANNEL