A mega development drive is on the cards in Kalyani for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but its fate hinges on whether the Mamata Banerjee government makes adequate land available.

The development plan drawn up by the health ministry includes Metro connectivity for the Nadia town, and budget housing for patients and their relatives, a market complex and a bus terminus near the proposed hospital.

A senior ministry official visited the AIIMS site in Kalyani's Basantapur on Saturday and asked the district authorities to conduct a feasibility study on the availability of land for the projects.

The site is around 45km from Calcutta and 8km from National Highway 34. It is located on a link road that serves as the gateway to Kalyani town. As part of the Centre's plan, the link road will be converted into a four-lane artery.

"Ancillary urban planning around the AIIMS is very important, particularly for improving communication and housing infrastructure. We have asked state government officials to prepare a report," said Arun Panda, an additional secretary in the health ministry.

"Metro link is part of the plan. We have asked officials of the district administration to explore availability of land for laying the tracks. They will submit a report on land for the Metro project as well as other projects within two months," Panda said.

"There is already a proposal to extend the Metro link from Barrackpore to Kalyani. We will propose that the service be extended to the AIIMS site in Basantapur. A survey will be held to assess availability of land," Nadia district magistrate Vijay Bharti said.

Mamata Banerjee as railway minister had in February 2011 announced a survey for the Barrackpore-Kalyani Metro. The proposed network was to extend till Diamond Harbour in the south, Kalyani in the north and Dhulagarh and Singur in the west.

Railway officials said a survey was conducted in 2011 but nothing happened after that. "The project was not feasible and so there was no initiative to implement it," a railway official said. "However, with AIIMS being planned in Kalyani, there could be renewed interest in the project."

In the 2010 railway budget, Mamata had proposed a Metro link between Baranagar and Barrackpore. The original alignment, along BT Road, had to be scrapped as the Trinamul-run Calcutta Municipal Corporation refused to shift underground utilities, such as water lines.

The state has proposed an alternative route for the Baranagar-Barrackpore project since.

A section in the state administration is keeping fingers crossed on the fate of the Centre’s plan, given the chief minister’s hands-off land policy. In Calcutta, several Metro projects are stuck for years because of unavailability of land.

Health ministry sources said details of the Kalyani projects and sharing of costs are yet to be finalised. “Once the state government submits a feasibility report on land, the cost and other details will be worked out,” an official said.
The Mamata Banerjee government chose Kalyani over Raiganj, in North Dinajpur district, for the AIIMS because of its proximity to Calcutta. Besides, the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics is located in Kalyani and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research is nearby.

The Centre had in March approved the proposal for setting up the AIIMS in Basantapur. The clearance came after chief minister Mamata Banerjee had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The initial outlay of the project has been estimated at Rs 823-crore.

COMING UP

• Metro link from Calcutta
• Budget housing for patients and relatives
• Market complex
• Bus terminus