By IANS
New Delhi : Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss Friday got cabinet support for his proposed amendment to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Act under which the tenure of the institute's director would be for five years with retirement at 65.
"The amendment slated to be introduced in the first week of the monsoon session of Parliament is apparently aimed at improving the functioning of the country's premier medical institute," Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a meeting of the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The amendment to the act comes after the Delhi High Court had stayed the dismissal of AIIMS director P. Venugopal, who had been dismissed through a resolution adopted by the AIIMS governing body of which Ramadoss is the president. The court had described the government action as arbitrary.
Venugopal has been at loggerheads with the minister over the issue of reservation, which had rocked the nation's premier medical institution.
If the amendment is passed by parliament, Venugopal may have to relinquish his post immediately as he turned 65 on July 6, though he was appointed for five years in July 2003.
According to the appointment letter dated July 3, Venugopal's appointment was "for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge and until further orders."