Kalyani: The Union health ministry team monitoring the construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Kalyani asked all stakeholders on Thursday to complete their work before target.

The ministry has decided to start admitting the first batch of 50 students next August. In case the campus is not ready by then, students will be provided with temporary accommodation for two to three months till work gets over.

A five-member team headed by chief adviser to AIIMS Kalyani, K.K. Talwar, a former Medical Council of India head, met government officials at the Basantapur site.

Talwar was accompanied by Sanjay Roy, director of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, who told all the agencies, including the WBSEDCL, to go all out to finish the first phase by December so that the outpatient department could start functioning by April.

State health officials and Kalyani SDO Unis Rishin Ismail accompanied the team.

"Work hard so that the people of Nadia and the state could benefit," Talwar said.

He has set December 2019 as the deadline to complete the second phase work so that AIIMS can become fully operational by March 2020.

"I want to see AIIMS Kalyani running by March 2020 without fail. Take whatever steps needed to meet the target, preferably ahead of schedule," he told the officials at the meeting.

The monitoring team expressed satisfaction over the progress of work.

The construction of the OPD building and two residential buildings as part of the first phase started in 2016.

The state government coordinated with the Centre's executing wing, Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation Ltd, to help develop pre-service infrastructure on the 179.82 acre plot.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1,754 crore.

Work on the second phase, which includes another OPD, nursing college, medical college, laboratories, auditorium, Ayush clinic, dharmashala, and an administrative building, has started.

"We are maintaining the timeline as stipulated and we hope to complete the work as directed by the health ministry," Amit Sharma, site in-charge of Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd, the executing agency of the second phase, said.

Speaking to Metro, Talwar said: "We are trying our best to begin the medical education... the number of students will be gradually increased with the completed infrastructure."

A power station and four substations will help run the OPD and two buildings.

"The monitoring team expressed satisfaction over the progress of work," SDO Unis Rishin Ismail said.

"There are, however, certain issues that they have pointed out and sought solutions... it will be done soon to provide further pace to work."