New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has lashed out against the present and past governments at the Centre for not doing away with the practice of appointing the Union health minister as president of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) despite a legislation that frees the premier healthcare institution from government control.
Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had dismissed cardiologist PP Venugopal as director of AIIMS last year. The parliamentary committee on subordinate legislation, headed by former deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Najma Heptulla, placed its report in parliament on December 18 expressing concern about the power exercised by Ramadoss in controlling AIIMS.
The committee "is deeply concerned about the ominous implications of the appointment of the health minister as president of the institute". The committee said though the AIIMS Bill sought to eliminate the possibility of "bureaucratic or executive control in the functioning of institute, the government had failed to implement it.
"The committee recommends that the standing finance committee and academic committee should be headed by the director of AIIMS, along with academicians of repute in fields of medical sciences. Such a prestigious institution should be kept free from government control in order to ensure efficiency," the report stated.
The panel termed Ramadoss reasons for remaining in control of AIIMS "bizarre" and wondered if the health ministry had the authority to interpret the provisions of the AIIMS Bill. "Though the institute is funded by the government, interference by the ministry (health) in its day-to-day functioning is highly undesirable", the report stated.
