Construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at the earmarked location at Thoppur in Madurai will begin in a few days as the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Tamil Nadu, has issued Environmental Clearance (EC) for the project.
The application for EC was sent to SEIAA in January, said an official source.
Following the announcement of the project by the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for construction works in Madurai in 2019. Meanwhile, three batches of undergraduate students studying under AIIMS were accommodated at Government Medical College and Hospital in Ramanathapuram district. But the construction work still remained in limbo.
Political parties repeatedly criticised the project as a mere eye wash to convince the people that the Centre was providing many projects to Tamil Nadu. It became a hot topic during the last Assembly election and in the recently concluded parliamentary polls in the State.
Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin campaigned using a brick mocking at the single stone laid at the AIIMS project site.
An AIIMS official said that with the SEIAA issuing the Environmental Clearance, the construction works would start in a few days.
