National institute of virology: Mohali out, Jammu in

Mohali: National Institute of Virology proposed to be set up at Medicity in New Chandigarh, Mohali, will now come up in Jammu.

“The project is to be shifted due to a land dispute at New Chandigarh,” according to a report of the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare. The report was tabled in Parliament on March 15.

Anurag Aggarwal, additional chief secretary, medical education and research, Punjab said, “We have already sorted out the dispute and informed the Centre. As far as the parliamentary standing committee is concerned, it can only recommend the shifting of the project.”

“The authority in Jammu had identified a site, which was declared unsuitable by a committee. Now, it has proposed three more sites. An ICMR experts team is scheduled to visit Jammu shortly,” said the report.

The committee had said last-minute changes only caused unnecessary delay, recommending to finish tendering process at the earliest and begin construction work to adhere to the deadline of finishing the project within 15 months. The other three virology institutes are being established at Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Jabalpur.