Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has inspected the Nagaland Institute of Medical Science and Research in Kohima. He was checking on the progress of the medical school building construction work ahead of the first academic session. Rio assured additional funds for the project to complete the building and make it a center of excellence for studying medicine. He expressed hope that the project will be completed on time, allowing classes to start during the academic session in 2023-24. The Chief Minister will visit the site again before the medical college becomes functional.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare P Paiwang Konyak, Chief Secretary J Alam, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) team, Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Y Kikheto Sema, Dr. Soumya Chakraborty, Director-cum-Dean NIMSR and several other officials accompanied the Chief Minister during the visit. Rio said the government will provide whatever is necessary for the staff and hostel, including the bus facility if required.
Furthermore, the government will take over the Urban Housing Complex. The authorities should not worry about funds, as the government will release the necessary amount on a yearly requirement basis. The government of India will also provide additional funds for the project, and the NIMSR authorities are expected to provide a blueprint of fund utilization for the state government to facilitate its release.
The Chief Minister further maintained that non-submission of utilization certificate (UC) would hamper further funding to the institute. A meeting would be held in a day or two to discuss NIMSR. He also requested that the prime minister and finance minister upgrade NIMSR to Centre-run AIIMS or Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) status. Before his visit, Kikheto Sema gave a presentation on the NIMSR project in the day.
