A public interest petition had been filed in the Kerala High Court by a people’s federation from the Kasaragod region, protesting the ongoing delay in establishing an AIIMS hospital in Kerala.
When the petition came up for hearing before the Chief Justice’s bench, an affidavit was filed on behalf of the Union Health Ministry.
It stated that first priority in setting up AIIMS institutions is being given to states that are most backward in healthcare infrastructure, and since Kerala is already among the national leaders in health indicators, approving AIIMS for Kerala at present is not on the Central Government’s priority list.
Hearing this argument from the central government, the bench of judges sharply questioned whether a state excelling in the health sector is a disqualification for receiving the AIIMS project.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction with the central government’s affidavit, noting that can all ordinary people in Kerala go to private corporate hospitals and spend lakhs of rupees to receive advanced treatment, and that Kerala, with its high population density, has all the qualifications to receive AIIMS.
In this situation, Thrissur Member of Parliament and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum Suresh Gopi met reporters in Thiruvananthapuram and gave a detailed explanation.

Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi said, "What the Central Government filed in the High Court was only the current priority list. It does not mean that the project was rejected. The High Court has given the Central Government a response to that effect as well.
When Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda visited Ernakulam in June 2025, he firmly assured me that AIIMS would be established in Kerala at the right time. Since the beginning of this project, unnecessary controversies have been raised regarding the AIIMS issue.
AIIMS hospital will definitely come to Kerala. This is a promise I made to the people in person. At the very least, I will not come to the people asking for votes in the next election without laying the foundation stone for the AIIMS hospital. How can I give a more firm assurance than this?
The state government has not even submitted a project proposal for at least 5 locations in Kerala that are suitable for establishing AIIMS to the central government.

First, the Kerala government must clarify whether it wants Alappuzha or Thrissur. There are various options for setting up AIIMS, including land belonging to the agricultural university in Thrissur.
I made this clear to the State Health Minister K. Muraleedharan as well at the consultation meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram. However, the state government has not yet formally submitted such detailed project proposals to the central government.
"If the state government submits suitable land proposals, the central government will provide an AIIMS hospital to Kerala at the appropriate time," he said.
