Unfortunate that premier tertiary care hospital SKIMS not under elected govt's control, says JK CM

Srinagar, Dec 5 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said it was unfortunate that the premier tertiary care hospital SKIMS was not under the control of the elected government and its files were not sent to him or the concerned minister.

Addressing the 43rd annual day of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, Abdullah said when the director of SKIMS invited him to the event, he had initially thought of refusing as the elected government had no control over the institute.

"Unfortunately, for the reasons I do not understand, SKIMS is not under the control of the elected government. And when files don't reach us, and we can't make decisions, then perhaps inviting us here and having us speak doesn't make sense," he said in his address.

However, Abdullah said he decided to attend the event "thinking why should I punish SKIMS, its director or its faculty".

The chief minister also questioned the absence of senior officers of the civil administration from the event.

"Do you see any officer of the administration in the audience here? I don't see anyone. I don't know if they were deliberately instructed not to come. Are they kept away from such programmes, I don't know," he added.

Abdullah, however, said SKIMS should not be punished for not being under their control. "Why should we punish the institute for it? We fulfilled our duties. Wherever SKIMS needed us, wherever it needed financial assistance for new projects, we left no stone unturned," he said.

The chief minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to expanding healthcare infrastructure and strengthening tertiary care in Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah said his government had always extended full financial support to SKIMS and would continue to do so with greater vigour.

He announced that the introduction of the new Special Assistance to the States for Capital Investment (SASCI) funding window, previously available only to states, had now, following his intervention, been extended to Union territories as well.

This, he said, has created an unprecedented opportunity for Jammu and Kashmir to access long-term, zero-interest capital expenditure loans.

"This year, we finally gained access to SASCI. Under this mechanism, we can now avail funds for capital investment. This is a unique chance for us, and I want SKIMS to take full advantage of it," he said.

He urged the SKIMS administration to conceptualise a major project that can be completed within a period of two to three years. PTI SSB OZ OZ