New Delhi: The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for formation of societies for each of the six AIIMS-like institutions being set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). These societies will be functional till the AIIMS-like institutions are brought under an Act of Parliament.

"Creating legal entities in the form of a society for these institutions will facilitate greater autonomy and faster execution of the projects and will expedite release of funds from the Government. Each of these institutions will be registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860," an official press release said on Monday.

The press release added that "Each society will have a two-tier Organization and Management structure. The Governing Council under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare would have appropriate representation from concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and other related organizations. This will be the apex body deciding all policy matters."

There will also be a Board of Governors with Secretary (Health & Family Welfare) as chairperson with appropriate representation of State Governments. Persons with special knowledge in the field of science and medicine will be nominated by the Governing Council.

The Union Cabinet had approved the PMSSY in March, 2006 with the objective of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country.

Under Phase-I of PMSSY, six AIIMS-like institutions are being set up, one each in the States of Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) at an estimated cost of Rs. 840 crore per institution including nursing colleges.

The formation of societies will give these institutions a governance structure, which is not there at present.