New Delhi, July 22: Government is not in favour of giving complete autonomy to prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on the ground that if Director “goes berserk” the situation would be difficult to retrieve; Rajya Sabha was told on Wednesday.
Responding to Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley’s observation that ministers control over AIIMS, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad asked “the question is to what extent” autonomy could be given.
“Autonomy of the institute should be maintained to the extent that Minister should not interfere in the day-to-day functioning of the institute,” he said replying to a debate on the working of his ministry.
Azad said the minister as President of the Institute should confine to policy issues.
However, he made it clear that government could not give complete autonomy to AIIMS.
“The question is autonomy to what extent. To some extent, yes. (but) what about when Director goes berserk”, he asked adding if minister went wrong he was answerable to Parliament. “Should he (minister) go wrong, he can be taken to task by the public and Parliament”, he said.
He said it will not be easy to dislodge an “inconvenient” Director as he is responsible neither to public nor to Parliament.
During the tenure of previous Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, AIIMS had witnessed prolonged tussle between him and the then Director P Venugopal.
–Agencies–