E-Paper
Activists oppose Madhya Pradesh hospitals’ lease to family
Activists allege the two entities “failed to meet bid conditions of five years’ experience and clean regulatory record”.
Bhopal : Two newly registered non-profit foundations that signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with the Madhya Pradesh government in August are run by the same family which already operates three medical colleges in the state, documents accessed by HT revealed.
Swami Vivekanand Shiksha Dham Foundation and Vivekanand Bodhi Knowledge Foundation—both registered in July 2025 at the same Bhopal address—will establish colleges in Katni, Betul, Dhar and Panna. The foundations were set up by Ayushmati Education and Social Society (AESS) and the Radha Krishna Dharmaraj Foundation (RKDF) Group, run by Sunil Kapoor’s family.
Under the MoUs signed on August 25, the state will lease 25 acres each at nominal rates and allow joint management of district hospitals. Capacity will be raised to 400–600 beds, with 25% paid beds reserved for the colleges.
Activists allege the entities “failed to meet bid conditions of five years’ experience and clean regulatory record”.
A health department official, requesting anonymity, said: “The groups floated new entities to avoid controversy as RKDF was earlier found guilty of admission fraud.”
Rajkumar Sinha of Jila Aspatal Bachao Sangharsh Morcha said that the RKDF medical college has violated bid guidelines as the Supreme Court in 2019 imposed a ₹5 crore penalty on it, barred admissions for academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 and ordered prosecution of its then dean, for “habitually indulging in foul play”.
The case of perjury is pending, a senior advocate said.
Amulya Nidhi of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an organisation work for health issues, alleged RKDF failed to meet bid conditions of five years’ experience and clean regulatory record. He said, “The tendering process was completed in May and RKDF medical college completed a five-year experience only in August this year as it resumed its working after a ban in 2020.”
RKDF chairman Sunil Kapoor said, “We are running three medical colleges and no one can question our capability to run four more.” On the admission ban, he said, “These are lies by those who lost the bid.”
Health department principal secretary Sandeep Yadav, meanwhile, defended the decision. “We followed all rules and maintained transparency. What’s wrong if one group i.e., RKDF owns multiple societies and wins bids? RKDF will invest ₹300 crore to upgrade district hospital facilities, so they are entitled to earn profits,” he said.
