Punjab CM to urge Prime Minister to take over PIMS

Chandigarh, Feb 23 (UNI) The Governing Body of Shaheed Beant Singh Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar headed by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has decided to approach the Centre to take over this institute on the pattern of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

A spokesman for the Punjab Government said the Union Government had already planned to set up six such institutes in the various parts of the country. It was decided in the meeting yesterday that Chief Minister will soon call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to intervene and direct the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to take over PIMS. It would go long way in providing super speciality services to the patients in the northern region, he added.

The governing council under the chairmanship of Capt Singh also decided to reduce the number of organising committees from nine to three to rationalise the functioning of the institute.

It also approved to release Additional Centre Assistance (ACA) of Rs 10 crore for execution of pending works related to the construction and maintenance of the complex, besides it also approved the annual accounts for the year 2004-05.

Deputy Chief Minster Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Finance Minister Surinder Singla, Chief Secretary K R Lakhanpal, Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, Secretary, Medical Education Research Sarvesh Kaushal and Dr Kiranjit Kaur, Director Medical Education Research also attended the meeting.

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