BL & Kashyap Company, the firm engaged in construction work of AIIMS-Patna would hand over the two floors of the trauma and emergency building to the hospital administration within a week.

The first floor of the outpatient department building of the health hub is also ready and it would be handed over to AIIMS-Patna within 10 days. The development assumes significance as Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, during his visit to the health hub on June 21, had said that AIIMS-Patna would be handed over to the people of the state on December 25, the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Sources said Harsh Vardhan, after visiting the health hub, sent a directive to the construction firm asking it to complete work anyhow before December 20 so that the hospital could be dedicated to people on December 25.

B.N. Pandey, general manager, BL & Kashyap Company, said: 'Today, administration officials, including AIIMS-Patna director Dr G.K. Singh, conducted an inspection and they were satisfied with the pace of work. We would hand over the first two floors of the trauma and emergency building to the AIIMS administration within a week. The remaining two floors of the building, in which modular operation theatres would be started, would be handed over later. The ground floor of the outpatient department building is almost ready. Only a few work has to be completed. Glass windows have to be installed and painting work is left. We would hand over the ground floor to AIIMS-Patna within 10 days.'

AIIMS-Patna's focus is to start 24x7 emergency services at the health hub so that critical patients could be admitted. A senior official of AIIMS-Patna, on the condition of anonymity, said: 'The whole project can't be completed by December 25, as the construction of four blocks of the indoor patient building that would house 960 beds is not complete,' said an official.

AIIMS-Patna director Singh said though the hospital administration had decided to take the possession of trauma and emergency building, it won't start surgical services there as proposed in the original plan of the AIIMS-Patna project. 'We have decided to start the surgical block in the Ayush and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) building for now. The trauma and emergency building would be used for placing non-surgical cases,' he said.

'The superintending engineer of the AIIMS-Patna project has been transferred and the new person, who has been given additional responsibility is already looking after the work of other new AIIMS in Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Jodhpur. There is no project management consultant also. All this has increased our problems,' said Pandey.