The CPI(M) is hurting over the UDF government proposing four seats for AIIMS in Kerala

The Kerala government’s recent decision to propose four sites for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the state has not gone down well with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), especially its Kozhikode district leadership.

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan recently said the United Democratic Front-led government had informed the Center 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 the land and the Center can inspect them and take a call, an Assembly minister said recently.

However, the CPI(M) Kozhikode district secretariat criticized the move, calling it an attempt to “marginalize Kozhikode, and especially Malabar, to serve certain vested interests”. Party officials say 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 including electricity and water is available here. There is also connectivity to Kozhikode Railway Station and Calicut International Airport. These facts have already been communicated to the Union Ministry of Health and Welfare, they claim.

CPI(M) leaders point out that 151.52 acres of land available at Kinalur with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation has been handed over to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME). Steps have also been initiated to acquire an additional 100 acres adjacent to this privately held property. The environmental impact assessment has been completed and a notice has been issued under Section 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Remediation and Resettlement Act 2013. An assessment of the value of land, buildings and real estate in the area is underway. Once this is completed, another 100 acres may be handed over to the DME, CPI(M) leaders say.

Meanwhile, PA Mohamed Riyas, CPI(M) and LDF’s lone MLA in Kozhikode, also objected to the state government identifying several seats. Addressing a rally recently, he pointed out that the LDF government had identified Kinalur in Kozhikode after a detailed study. However, sources in the health ministry justified the move by saying that the Union government delayed the decision on AIIMS as the state insisted on one site. The four locations were designed so that the central team could identify one of them, they added.

Published – 02 Jul 2026 20:27 IST