Minister says National Institute of Ageing building is of poor quality

PWD has been asked to submit a report on the stability of the structure

Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma. Subramanian on Saturday said the National Institute of Ageing (NIA), constructed around two years ago on the King Institute of Preventive Medicine campus in Guindy, is of poor quality.

Raising concerns primarily over the quality of plastering, he said the Public Works Department (PWD) was asked to study the building and submit a report on its structural stability.

The building was constructed during the AIADMK government at a cost of ₹151.17 crore. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was temporarily made into a full-fledged COVID-19 hospital. The DMK government announced that with the number of cases coming down, it planned to convert it back to the National Institute of Ageing.

The Minister raised concerns after inspecting the building ahead of its reopening. Mr. Subramanian recollected that he had questioned the quality of construction of the building in the Assembly even when he was an MLA in the Opposition. Then, the AIADMK government replied that it was of good quality.

He said that though he and other officials visited the building during the pandemic, they could not properly inspect all the parts. He said the plastering had come off at many places. “It does not look like a building that was constructed just two years ago,” he said, adding that the plastering seemed to have been done without adequate cement.

Pointing out that it was unsafe to convert it back to the National Institute of Ageing at the moment, the Minister said a decision would be taken in 15 days after the PWD submitted its report. If irregularities were found, action would be taken against those responsible.

He said doctors’ associations welcomed the conduct of transfer counselling for 1,000 persons scheduled for next week. He added that this was the first time transfer counselling was being organised for 1,000 persons at one go.