Action committee's appeal on Jipmer

Puducherry, Dec 20 (UNI) The JIPMER Anti-Conversion Peoples Action Committee today urged the Centre to make JIPMER a zonal office for all central government medical institutions in the south instead of converting it into an autonomous institution.

Addressing a press conference here, Committee President and Tamil Nadu CPI(M) state council member T Murugan said the Centre should allocate adequate funds for the development of JIPMER and an IAS officer should be appointed to monitor the functioning after making it a zonal office, in addition to a Parliamentary Committee for the purpose.

He said the committee had a meeting with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss in New Delhi on December 14 and a protest was registered against the conversion of JIPMER into an autonomous institution.

He said the committee, with the help of CPI(M) central leaders, had prevented the tabling of the Bill for the time being. But still there was an apprehension that it could be tabled in the Budget Session.

He said the Bill was likely to be referred to the Standing Committee and the Action Committee would take steps to prevent its tabling.

Mr Murugan pointed out that in the election manifesto all the parties had opposed the conversion of JIPMER into an autonomous institution. But now they were deviating from the promise given to the public.

He said as per the Bill, if it was passed, the free treatment facility at JIPMER will no longer be there and none of the posts could be filled up through the Puducherry employment exchange.

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