Rs 547 Crore Medical Hub To Replace Burnt Buildings At Air India Crash Site

The Gujarat government has announced a Rs 547 crore plan to redevelop the campus destroyed after Air India's flight AI171 crashed into the student hostels and mess buildings a year ago, resulting in 260 deaths.

Gujarat Health Minister Praful Panseria, while offering tributes to those who lost their lives in the crash, stated that the government is determined to transform the scars of this tragedy into a resolution for growth, turning the site into a sanctuary of health and education that will herald a new era in healthcare and inspire new hopes for medical students. The ambitious transformation involves an investment exceeding Rs 547 crore to erect state-of-the-art healthcare and educational facilities on the affected grounds.

The New Mental Campus, functioning under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, is located adjacent to the Asarwa Civil Hospital and spreads across a vast total land area of 1,71,100 square meters. Prior to the accident, the campus housed several functional residential and hostel structures that utilised approximately 14,470 square meters of land.

The setup included six blocks of teaching staff quarters, offering 120 three-BHK units built on a ground plus five structure, six blocks of non-teaching staff quarters offering 120 two-BHK units on a ground plus four structure, two blocks of an undergraduate hostel containing 364 rooms on a ground plus five layout, seven blocks of a married post-graduate hostel providing 161 units on a ground plus four layout, and a ground plus one mess and canteen building. The modern dining facility is being planned to accommodate around 800 students, with an estimated project cost of Rs 10 crore.

All of these residential blocks, the canteen, and a substation were constructed during the 2015-2016 period.

The tragedy unfolded on June 12, 2025, when a Boeing 737 Dreamliner aircraft sustained damage and crashed within the campus. The aircraft collided with the canteen building and the Atulyam 1 to 4 hostel buildings, triggering a devastating disaster. Among the heavily damaged structures were four blocks of the married post-graduate hostel, which housed 92 students living with their families. Following the crash, the health department immediately arranged separate temporary accommodation and catering facilities for all the affected post-graduate and undergraduate students.

According to official updates obtained exclusively by NDTV, the health department has decided to completely demolish all the buildings damaged at the crash site to clear up the space. The remaining open land within the New Mental Campus will now be repurposed to construct a series of diverse healthcare facilities and hostels. The primary phase of the blueprint focuses directly on the plane crash site itself, where approximately 25,000 square meters of land will be dedicated to setting up a Paraplegia and Spine Hospital, a rehabilitation center, a physiotherapy college, and a hostel equipped for 500 students.

The current year's budget has allocated an estimated Rs 175 crore specifically for the rehabilitation center, the physiotherapy college, and the 500-student hostel, alongside an estimated Rs 120 crore designated for the Paraplegia and Spine Hospital, bringing the total for this specific zone to Rs 295 crore.

Further restructuring plans aim to fully restore and expand the student housing and dining facilities. New hostel blocks for married post-graduate students will be constructed right next to the existing undergraduate Sopanam Hostel within the campus. This project plans to deliver a total of 510 units across approximately eight blocks, designed with a ground plus seven height profile, with the estimated expenditure projected to reach Rs 192 crore.

The massive campus overhaul also includes a significant upgrade to the state's pharmaceutical testing infrastructure. A Food and Drugs Laboratory is scheduled to be constructed within the same New Mental Campus, occupying roughly 3,100 square meters of land. For the year 2025-26, a budget provision of Rs 28.31 crore has already been made against an estimated required sum of Rs 60.61 crore. The facility is planned as a ground plus multi-story structure modeled directly after the highly advanced NABL-approved laboratory currently operational in Vadodara. The final estimated cost for completing this state-of-the-art laboratory is expected to be Rs 50 crore.

Once these extensive projects are fully realised, the revamped New Mental Campus will emerge as a premier hub for healthcare, medical research, and education in the state, offering top-tier modern amenities to students, healthcare professionals, and citizens alike.