Shillong, Feb. 10: Union health and family welfare minister Sushma Swaraj today promised to turn the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences into a “centre of excellence”, second only to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

The minister, who is the chairperson of the institute, told the media after a meeting of the governing body that her announcement should not be construed as a pre-election sop.

“This has nothing to do with the Lok Sabha poll being round the corner. The government has long been planning to upgrade the institution. My visit is neither a coincidence nor does it have anything to do with politics. It was overdue,” she said.

The medical institute was conceived as a centre for post-graduate studies, but an undergraduate college with 100 seats would be added to it.

Swaraj was here to assess the progress of work on the institute, located at Madiangdiang. The super-speciality regional healthcare centre was set up in 1987, but the progress of the project was initially slowed by paucity of funds. The project is being executed under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The health and family welfare minister said a nursing college would be opened at the institute, subject to availability of power. She claimed the first phase of the institute would be commissioned by July.

“I know there has been some delay, but I am happy to announce that the governing council today resolved to meet the deadline,” Swaraj said.

Describing it as “a major decision for the Northeast”, the BJP leader said the institute would have “nodal telemedicine centres and forward connectivity with one medical institute of the Northeast, besides a backward linkage with the AIIMS”.

Swaraj brought cheer to Assam, too, saying Delhi was eager to upgrade one of the medical colleges in the state. “There is no hitch as far as upgrading one of the medical institutes in Assam is concerned. But there should be a specific proposal.”

The Union minister said chief minister Tarun Gogoi met her in New Delhi a couple of days ago and she asked him to decide soon whether the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh or the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) should be upgraded.

A source said the Centre was unhappy with the Gogoi government for failing to submit a report on the requirements of the GMCH.