AIIMS to lease houses near metro stations for students and doctors

New Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to lease fully furnished houses, flats, guest houses near the institute or at locations with connectivity to the Delhi metro to provide students and resident doctors accommodation till they are allotted hostels.

There are over 3,000 students and resident doctors on the waiting list for hostel accommodation.

At present, over 6,000 students and resident doctors are enrolled at AIIMS and of them, 50 per cent are in hostels although the capacity is 2,000.

According to officials, the institute will float an expression of interest for leasing fully-furnished hostel facilities near the institute and has also approached public sector undertakings to explore the possibility of utilising spare capacities in their guest houses or transit accommodations near the institute.

Officials said that the institute recognises the challenges of its undergraduate, post-graduate, PhD students and resident doctors who need suitable accommodation while waiting for hostel allotments. Particularly, women students/resident doctors encounter difficulties. They often commute during odd hours using their own means of transport.

The director of AIIMS, Dr M Srinivas, said the purpose behind this move is to explore the availability of hostel accommodation that offers similar amenities to those provided in the AIIMS hostels.

The prospective hostels should be properly maintained, secure and access-controlled to ensure the well-being of the students and resident doctors.

Additionally, fixed or on-demand meals, laundry services and other basic conveniences should be available.

AIIMS officials said that interested parties have been invited to submit proposals. The EOI is scheduled to be floated by July 31, 2023.

Welcoming the move, the Resident Doctors Association's president Dr Vinay Kumar said this was a long-pending demand of students.