RTI Reveals Reality Behind AIIMS Darbhanga: A Decade After Announcement, the Campus Still Has Only a Gate
A Right to Information (RTI) response has reignited questions over the long-delayed AIIMS Darbhanga project, revealing that despite years of announcements, approvals and political promises, the proposed premier medical institution in Bihar remains largely unbuilt. More than a decade after the Centre announced the project and nearly six years after Darbhanga was finalised as its location, the most visible structure at the site continues to be the main entrance gate, earning the project the description of “the medical college with only a gate.”
The RTI response, accessed by media organisations, raises a particularly striking issue: the much-publicised entrance gate was reportedly neither sanctioned as a separate component nor awarded through an independent construction tender. Despite becoming the symbolic face of the project, the gate appears to have been built outside the normal project approval process, prompting fresh questions about administrative planning and execution.
The AIIMS Darbhanga project has experienced repeated delays since it was first announced in the Union Budget of 2015 as Bihar’s second AIIMS. The Union Cabinet formally approved the institute in 2020, but disagreements between the Centre and the Bihar government over land selection, concerns about flooding, environmental suitability and repeated changes to the proposed site significantly slowed progress. Eventually, nearly 187 acres of land at Shobhan-Ekmi near Darbhanga were handed over for construction, allowing the project to move forward.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for AIIMS Darbhanga in November 2024, while the Union government appointed HSCC (India) Ltd. as the executing agency for the project. The proposed institute is planned as a 750-bed super-speciality hospital with a medical college offering 100 MBBS seats, nursing programmes and advanced speciality departments. More recently, the Union Cabinet approved additional funding, increasing the total project cost to nearly ₹1,964 crore to address rising construction costs and execution challenges.
Despite these developments, the RTI findings suggest that major civil construction—including hospital buildings, academic blocks, residential complexes and supporting infrastructure—had not substantially progressed at the time of the disclosure. The image of the standalone entrance gate has therefore become a symbol of public frustration over infrastructure projects that are announced with considerable fanfare but take years to materialise.
The delay has significant implications for healthcare in Bihar. AIIMS Darbhanga is expected to serve the Mithila region and neighbouring districts, providing tertiary healthcare services while reducing the need for patients to travel to Patna, Delhi or other metropolitan cities for specialised treatment. Once completed, the institute is also expected to strengthen medical education, research and specialist healthcare capacity in one of eastern India’s underserved regions.
Political leaders across party lines have repeatedly cited AIIMS Darbhanga as a flagship healthcare project, but the prolonged timeline has attracted criticism from opposition parties, civil society groups and local organisations. Student bodies and regional organisations have previously organised campaigns demanding faster implementation, arguing that the project has suffered from bureaucratic delays and political disagreements rather than technical constraints alone.
While construction is now expected to gather pace following land transfer, revised funding and appointment of an executing agency, the RTI disclosure has renewed demands for greater transparency regarding project approvals, expenditure and implementation milestones. For many residents of Bihar, the controversy highlights the gap between infrastructure announcements and on-ground execution, with the solitary gate standing as a reminder that one of the state’s most anticipated healthcare institutions is still awaiting its full construction.
