By: Ibni Maqbool
Srinagar: In a significant development, the Government of India has set the ball rolling to appoint the first director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kashmir.
The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has initiated the process for appointment of first executive director of AIIMS, Awantipora.
To begin with, the Ministry has invited applications from the citizens of India including non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin for filling up the post of executive director on deputation/short-term contract/ contract basis. “The appointment on deputation/short term contract/contract basis will be for three years which can be extended up to five years or up to attaining the age of 70 years or until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” reads the notice issued by the ministry, a copy of which is in possession of Precious Kashmir.
The executive director will act as chief executive officer (CEO) of the AIIMS.
As per conditions governing the appointment of ED, the screening of applications will be carried out on the basis of information provided by candidates. Only short- listed candidates will be called for interview, which will be conducted by the search cum selection committee (SCSC), the notice states.
As per rules, the search-cum-selection committee selects a name from the list of candidates which is then sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval.
The process for appointment of AIIMS Director has begun nearly one-and-a-half month after AIIMS, Samba got its first director.
On February 23 this year, Dr Shakti Gupta, former Medical Superintendent, Dr.R.P.Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, was appointed as first Director of AIIMS, Samba.
In 2015, the Centre had announced setting up of AIIMS-like institutions in Kashmir and Jammu. Both these projects are part of Rs 80068 crore financial package announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 7, 2015 for infrastructure building in J&K.
In 2019, the Union Cabinet approved AIIMS Kashmir with an estimated cost of Rs 1828 crore.
Last year, the Centre had directed the J&K administration to set-up a temporary campus adjacent to the proposed site of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Awantipora for starting medical courses.