The Kerala High Court has directed the Centre to take a decision without further delay on the proposal to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala, noting that the matter has remained pending with the central government since 2016.
A division bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M asked the Centre to consider the state’s healthcare requirements while deciding the proposal.
The direction came during the hearing of two petitions filed by public action groups seeking the establishment of an AIIMS in Kasaragod or Kottayam.
Centre Links AIIMS Decision to Extension of PMSSY Scheme
In an affidavit submitted through Deputy Solicitor General of India OM Shalina, the Centre informed the court that the proposal to establish an AIIMS in Kerala under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has not figured in any Union Budget announcement so far.
The government stated that a proposal to extend PMSSY for another five years is currently undergoing inter-ministerial consultations.
According to the affidavit, the Centre can consider establishing a new AIIMS only after receiving approval for the continuation of the scheme and allocation of the necessary funds. Any subsequent proposal would then have to be processed in accordance with government policy for consideration by the Union Cabinet.
Centre Cites Kerala’s Existing Healthcare Facilities
Advocate K K Subeesh, appearing for the AIIMS Kasaragod Janakeeya Koottayma, said the Centre had informed the court that priority was being given to states with comparatively weaker healthcare systems. The central government also referred to Kerala’s existing healthcare infrastructure.
The Centre explained that PMSSY seeks to address regional disparities in access to affordable and dependable tertiary healthcare while improving facilities for medical education.
It pointed to several projects undertaken in Kerala under the scheme, including the establishment of super-speciality blocks at medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode and Government T D Medical College in Alappuzha.
The affidavit also referred to the development of a 170-bed super-speciality block at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram under Phase V-A of PMSSY in 2017.
The Centre maintained that these projects had substantially strengthened tertiary healthcare services in Kerala.
Kerala Identified Four Districts for AIIMS
The central government informed the court that Kerala had been identifying possible locations for the proposed AIIMS since 2014.
The four districts initially identified were Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam. In 2025, the state government conveyed its preference for Kinaloor in Kozhikode district as the location for the institution.
The affidavit further disclosed that the Union Ministry of Finance had been consulted regarding the proposal in 2019 and 2020.
Despite these consultations and the state’s identification of potential locations, the proposal has yet to receive a budget announcement under PMSSY.
Taking note of the prolonged pendency, the High Court directed the Centre to consider Kerala’s requirements and decide the matter without further delay.
