Guwahati, June 9: The Centre is yet to respond to Dispur's proposal on the three possible sites for setting up an institute on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Assam.

A health department official told The Telegraph that the state government had suggested three locations - Dimoria Mouza in Kamrup (metro), Kamalpur revenue circle in Kamrup district and Shahari Mouza of Raha in Nagaon district.

While the state government has identified 254 acres of land in Dimoria Mouza, there are 214 acres and 198 acres in Kamalpur revenue circle and Shahari Mouza respectively to set up the AIIMS-like institute.

"The details of sites were sent to the Union ministry of health and family welfare for consideration in April. A five-member central team visited the state for onsite verification and evaluation of the sites from April 19 to 21. The state government had submitted all relevant documents to the team. Even though the team did not raise any objection to any of the proposed sites, Dispur has not yet received any response (positive or negative) from the Centre," the official said.

Soon after the BJP-led NDA government came to power at the Centre last year, then health minister Harshvardhan had asked all states to send the proposal for setting up AIIMS-like institutes.

According to the scheme, cost of construction and running of the new institutes would be met by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

Under the same scheme, six AIIMS-like institutions have been set up in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

Sources told this correspondent that even though Assam had showed urgency to the proposal and made immediate official correspondence with Harshvardhan, the Centre has so far examined proposed projects for Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

"Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, currently in Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi on party affairs, is likely to take up the issue with the Union health ministry," the source said. He said Gogoi yesterday wrote to health minister J.P. Nadda expressing displeasure on the delay in responding to the state government's proposal on a possible site for setting up the AIIMS clone.

Gogoi has conveyed to Nadda that a quick response from the Centre in setting up an AIIMS-like institution would go down well for the health care delivery system in the state.

Sources said the Assam unit of the BJP is also planning to take up the issue with the Centre, keeping in mind the 2016 Assembly polls. "The ruling Congress may exploit the issue in case the Centre does not respond positively on the AIIMS matter. We do not want the issue to become an embarrassment for us," a BJP functionary said.

The chief minister often accused the BJP at public platforms that the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee deprived Assam of an AIIMS. Sources said Gogoi's request for an AIIMS was reportedly turned down by then health minister Sushma Swaraj.