Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has asked Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to speed up work on All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bathinda, which is also Badal’s constituency.

In a letter she wrote to the Punjab Chief Minister, she said that no-objection certificates to start civil works on the project “has delayed the start of work on the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bathinda by four months”.

She further pointed out that the construction of AIIMS’ boundary wall has not been started due to the delay in granting permissions for shifting water channels within the proposed institute’s compound.

The minister added that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, had given the NoC for the proposal submitted by the Punjab Government in July, 2017. But Punjab Agricultural University had delayed the transfer of an alternative plot to AIIMS as a replacement for the water tank falling inside the plot.

Badal said in this case also the Central government had given an NoC four months ago, but the State Health Department failed to issue the NoC required for the transfer.

AIIMS Bathinda, which is expected to be completed by 2020, will cover a 170-acre area and cost Rs 950 crores. The institute will offer 100 seats for MBBS course besides a nursing college.