The Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam has urged the district administration to consider the vacant Government of India Press campus at Veerapandi near Periyanaickenpalayam as the site for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Coimbatore.

In a petition submitted to the Coimbatore District Collector, the outfit welcomed reports that efforts were under way to establish an AIIMS campus in the district. It, however, appealed to the State and Union governments to avoid acquiring agricultural land for the project.

The association said the Government of India Press, which was established in the 1960s and has remained closed for the past five years, offered suitable infrastructure for the proposed institution. According to the petition, the campus spans about 150 acres and remains under the control of the Union government, eliminating the need for land acquisition.

The outfit pointed out that the premises already have residential quarters, a recreation club, a cooperative store, a post office, a sports ground, water treatment facilities and sewage treatment infrastructure. It said around 40 acres of land in the eastern residential area and over 100 acres in the western operational section were presently underutilised.

The association also noted that the campus has good road connectivity through the Press Colony bus stop and could benefit from a future metro rail station. It added that land earmarked for the Pasteur Institute could also be utilised for medical research facilities associated with the AIIMS project.

The petitioners urged the Collector to convey the proposal to the State and Union governments, stating that locating AIIMS within the existing campus would help preserve agricultural land in the district.