Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences

Origins

The origins of SKIMS can be traced to November 1972, when a group of associates and admirers of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah proposed the establishment of a public charitable trust to create a medical institute in Srinagar on the occasion of his 68th birthday.

In December 1972, Sheikh Abdullah approached the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Mir Qasim, seeking government cooperation and the leasing of land at Soura for the proposed institution. Syed Qasim was among the ten founding trustees of the Sher-i-Kashmir National Medical Institute Trust, which was formally registered on 19 May 1973. Dr. Ali Mohammad Jan was also involved in the establishment of the trust and served as its vice chairman.^[3]

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir, which had already been considering plans for a 500-bed hospital at Soura, sanctioned the lease of 292 kanals and 8 marlas of land at Zoonimar, Srinagar, to the Trust through a government order issued on 14 October 1973. The lease was granted at a consolidated annual rent of ₹101 for a period of 40 years. Around the same time, the Government Dispensary at Soura, along with its associated buildings and land, was transferred to the Trust.^[4]

Establishment

Construction of the institute began in 1976.^{[citation needed]} In February 1979, the institution was declared a government hospital through Government Order No. 36-ME of 1979.^[4] A formal agreement between the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Sher-i-Kashmir National Medical Institute Trust was executed on 17 December 1980. Under the agreement, the Trust contributed the land at Soura, valued at approximately ₹1.17 crore, together with the Sher-i-Kashmir Hospital and Polyclinic, for the establishment of the institute. The Government assumed responsibility for financing construction, equipment procurement, staffing, and all recurring and non-recurring expenditures. The agreement established a Governing Body headed by the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with cabinet ministers and representatives of the Trust serving as members.^{[citation needed]}

The hospital was partially commissioned on 5 December 1982 and became fully operational in 1983. During the same year, the institution was granted university-like status under a state legislative framework. In 1986, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir declared SKIMS a government organisation for all purposes through Government Order No. GD(Adm)10 of 1986.^[5][3]

By July 2003, the state government had reportedly spent approximately ₹520 crore on the construction, development, equipment, and maintenance of the institute. The Campus subsequently expanded to occupy roughly 1,000 kanals of land.^[5]

SKIMS Medical College, Bemina

In addition, SKIMS administers SKIMS Medical College & Hospital located in Bemina, Srinagar, which was established in 1989 as Jhelum Valley Medical College (JVC) and was taken over by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in 1998. It functions under the semi-autonomous administration of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).^[9]