The district leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in Kozhikode is planning to step up agitations highlighting its demand to set up the proposed All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Kerala at Kinalur near Balussery.

This comes in the wake of the United Democratic Front (UDF)-led State government informing the Centre that land was available to establish the institute in around a dozen locations across seven districts. According to reports, they are Cheemeni (Kasaragod), Kinalur (Kozhikode), Koratty (Thrissur), Kattakkada, Neyyar, and Thevankode (Thiruvananthapuram), Kakkanad and Kalamassery (Ernakulam), Velloor, Arpookkara, Vaikom (Kottayam), and Pallippuram (Alappuzha). The government is also of the view that it will not insist on any particular location. The State will provide the land for the purpose, which the Centre could examine and take a decision.

CPI(M) MLA P.A. Mohamed Riyas told The Hindu on Tuesday (July 21) that he would meet Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Health Minister K. Muraleedharan in Thiruvananthapuram in the coming days to discuss the issue. Protest meetings would be held in Balussery and other parts of Kozhikode district as well. At a people’s convention held in Kozhikode on Monday (July 20), Mr. Riyas had asked UDF MPs and MLAs from the district to clarify their stand on the issue.

CPI(M) leaders claimed that the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF)-led government zeroed in on Kinalur after a detailed study. They also described the move to suggest other locations as a step to marginalise the development dreams of the Malabar region to “protect certain vested interests”.

They pointed out that 252 acres of land had already been identified in Kinalur and Kanthalad villages. Basic infrastructure, including electricity and water, was available there. There was connectivity to the Kozhikode railway station and the Calicut International Airport as well. These facts had already been communicated to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, too.

As many as 151.52 acres of land available at Kinalur, with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation had been handed over to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME). The procedures to acquire another 100 acres adjacent to this land in the custody of private individuals were underway. The environmental impact assessment survey had been completed, and a notification under Section 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, had been issued. Assessing the value of the land, buildings, and properties in this area is ongoing. Once this is complete, another 100 acres can be handed over to the DME, the CPI(M) leaders said.

Published - July 21, 2026 07:55 pm IST