The upcoming AIIMS Satellite Centre in Kichha, located in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, is unlikely to be completed by 2025. Once seen as a key healthcare development for the Kumaon region, the project is still only halfway done, with nearly 50% of the construction pending.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the centre in November 2022. The project, being developed under AIIMS Rishikesh, spans 110 acres and carries an estimated cost of ₹500 crore. Although officials from the executing agency had earlier assured Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami that the facility would be ready by 2025, the ground reality suggests otherwise.
According to workers at the site, only half of the construction has been completed so far. “It will take at least another one and a half to two years to finish the remaining work,” a site engineer said.
The project includes a multi-storey residential complex for hospital staff on one side of the road and the main hospital building on the other. Currently, the hospital structure has reached up to three to four floors, with major work like roofing, interiors, and essential infrastructure still pending.
Kichha MLA Tilak Raj Behar acknowledged the slow progress, stating, “The construction is moving ahead, but at a sluggish pace. The sooner it’s completed, the sooner people will benefit from it.”
Once operational, the facility will feature 280 beds meeting National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) standards and will provide services like ICU, OPD, and IPD units. It aims to serve residents across Kumaon and the Terai region, with patients requiring specialised care to be referred to AIIMS Rishikesh after initial evaluation.
