Congress demands cancellation of PIMS’ 99-yr lease

The Congress on Wednesday demanded the cancellation of the 99 year lease of the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), that is run by a charitable society headed by Punjab Cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra. The opposition party urged the government to take control of the institution to ensure better healthcare facilities for the people.

Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said allegations that the 99-year lease for the prestigious (PIMS), was handed due to political considerations, stands vindicated as, he added, services in the hospital have come to a halt within a couple of years.

"The 500 bed hospital and the Medical College was built by the government on more than 66 acres of prime commercial land in Jalandhar, with an aim to provide healthcare facilities on the lines of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. Instead of running the institution after spending hundreds of crores for its welfare, the government succumbed to political pressure and leased out PIMS to Akali leaders such as Rakhra and the infamous Dhesi family of Phagwara," Khaira alleged.

The institution has been in a state of paralysis over the past few months, with doctors, staff and 400 other employees going on strike for non-payment of salaries. Students have also suffered as doctors have stopped delivering lectures as a mark of protest.

Khaira also demanded a probe into "the faulty allocation of PIMS to favoured people," so that responsibility can be fixed on those "playing with the tax payers money."

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