Bhubaneswar, Sept 13: Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling said the State government has started preparations for the establishment of a second AIIMS in the State while thanking Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for announcing the Central health project. 

The Minister said efforts are afoot to make Odisha the best health hub in the country. 

"This is a matter of great joy that CM Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have announced that a second AIIMS campus of the State will come up in Sambalpur. Preparations are underway for that," Mahaling told news agency ANI. 

He said the availability of plots of land is also being looked into and Odisha would become the best hub for the health sector in the next five years. 

"Gopabandhu Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat Yojana are being implemented in Odisha. Patients from Odisha, irrespective of their place of stay, will get free treatment in as many as 27,000 health institutions affiliated with the scheme. Establishment of AIIMS In New Delhi will bring a revolutionary change in Odisha's health sector," contended the Health Minister. 

He said he has started an official communique with the Centre regarding the establishment of the AIIMS in western Odisha.