BJP, AAP spar over proposed hospital

New Delhi

New Delhi

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The ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) sparred over the civic body’s decision to build a multi-specialty hospital in Tilak Nagar while its existing Purnima Sethi Hospital in Kalkaji is lying defunct.

“Why is SDMC starting a new 100-bed hospital in Tilak Nagar when its Rs 32 crore Purnima Sethi Multispecialty Hospital is non-functional for lack of money to hire doctors and nurses?” AAP MLA Narendar Kumar said at the budget analysis session of the corporation on Tuesday.

The BJP leadership, on the other hand, blamed the Delhi government. “When the Tilak Nagar hospital project was conceived in the year 2010, we had no idea we would land in a financial crisis. We wanted to provide free municipal health services that can cater to the poor in the west Delhi,” said Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Leader of House in SDMC.

“Even till 2017, we had a surplus of Rs 600 crore in revenue and received Rs 1,083 crore from the Delhi government in non-plan grants. Later in 2018, grants were reduced to Rs 750 crore, and in 2019 to Rs 164 crore only, and we realised we cannot afford a facility like Tilak Nagar Hospital,” said a senior official of the corporation.

The Purnima Sethi Hospital was planned as an eight storey medical facility with the state-of-the-art facilities but it has only a general OPD (out patient department) running from its three floors. The SDMC had planned to hand over building to Safdarjung Hospital to run it as a “satellite branch” but the Safdarjung Hospital administration has rejected the offer, SDMC officials said.

The corporation needs Rs. 60-70 crore as a one-time expense to buy medical equipment for it, besides hiring doctors, nurses and lower staff. Annually recurring expenses, such as salaries, would be additional.