New Delhi: The Centre has sought land from Delhi government to set up the first All-India Institute of Dental Medicine and Research in the national capital on the lines of the premier AIIMS.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has written to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung seeking 20 acres of land in the central part of Delhi in order to set up the institute, which is aimed at providing a boost to dental services and research in the country.
"Dental sciences in India have progressed tremendously in the last couple of years and we now have a large pool of dental professionals, including specialists, in the country."
"Although there are a number of medical institutes engaged in clinical services and research, there is no dental institute of national importance focusing on dental services, research and development," Vardhan says in the letter.
He further said that his ministry is committed to setting up five such institutes across the country. "I am keen that the first All-India Institute of Dental Medicine and Research, on the pattern of AIIMS, is set up in Delhi," Vardhan told the LG.
The new institute will become a centre of excellence for oral sciences with facilities for providing high-level training and education, he added.
"For this purpose we would need up to 20 acres of land, preferably in the central part of Delhi. Once you kindly make the land available, the Centre would accept the responsibility for providing necessary (funds) for construction, equipment, faculty positions, staff etc. (at the institute).
"I would appreciate an early response in the matter from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi government," the letter adds.
AIIMS here has an annual operating budget of Rs 1,365 crore and sees 10,000 patients thronging its vast corridors every day.
