Chennai, July 7(BPNS)

The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High court that the three suggestions of the Central government on temporary arrangements to the 150 MBBS seats at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences( AIIMS), Madurai be considered by the institute’s governing body. The governing body of the institute is meeting on July 16.

Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare in the counter affidavit during the previous hearing had stated that the ministry was willing to commence the services of AIIMS Madurai. This is subject to availability of alternate space for starting MBBS course as well as Out Patient Department(OPD).

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation(PIL)  filed by K Pushpavanam, a law student in Madurai seeking a temporary campus for AIIMS Madurai to provide OPD service and to start MBBS courses like other AIIMS centres.

The division bench of the Madras high court comprising of Justice T.S.Sivagnanam and Justice S. Ananthi on Wednesday after hearing the contention of the Tamil Nadu government said that the court was deferring hearing in the case till July 26. 

Union government had on June 4 in a letter has three options, either to send the students to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry or the state could allow students to study at a government medical/ arts college or to permit admissions in any self-financing medical colleges at Madurai.

Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian had on July 1 while speaking to media persons at Chennai said that the state government was not comfortable with the three suggestions given by the Union government for including the first batch of MBBS students in Madurai AIIMS till it gets its own building.