Chandigarh: Patients suffer as high rent keeps bidders away from GMSH-16 chemist shops
Two of the three private chemist shops have been lying vacant, forcing patients to wait in long queues at the sole operational shop
It has been three months since a chemist shop at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, fell vacant in November 2024 due to high rent, over a year after another shop met the same fate in May 2023.
But the Chandigarh health department has been unable to attract bidders for the two shops despite floating tenders twice.
With the two shops remaining shut, only a single chemist shop remains operational, along with the health department-run Jan Aushadhi Kendra.
But the Jan Aushadhi Kendra provides only a limited selection of medicines, forcing patients to rely on the lone chemist shop for other needs, leading to overcrowding and long wait times. Wait times shoot up especially between 11 am and 2 pm, exacerbating their woes.
Monthly rent running into ₹20 lakh
Each of the three chemist shops at the hospital were rented out against ₹17 lakh per month, which turns out to be around ₹20-21 lakh after taxes.
Until 2022, only one private chemist shop was running on the hospital premises since 1993 through multiple extensions and at rents significantly below market rates.
The shop’s lease, which should have ended in 1995, was renewed irregularly until 2023, bypassing the tendering process. Additionally, the shop was found to have illegally expanded by encroaching upon public passage, causing a ₹64.7-lakh loss to the exchequer. The shop was eventually reclaimed by the UT administration in February 2023, and a fine of ₹31.8 crore was imposed on the owner.
The chemist shop was leased afresh for ₹17.21 lakh per month plus 18% GST, but the owner failed to pay rent for two months and was evicted in May 2023. Another chemist also vacated his shop in November 2024 due to inability to generate enough income to meet the rent, leaving only a single operational shop at the busy hospital.
Dr Suman Singh, director of health services, acknowledged that no bidders had shown interest, but the department was rolling out fresh tenders. She added the high rent was not decided by them: “The shops have a minimum reserve price, which is set by the UT engineering department. The highest bidder is allotted the shop, given compliance with all requirements.”
Patients paying the price
Notably, the 500-bed hospital serves not just local but even distant patients.
Akhtareen, resident of Pinjore, shared that she had visited the hospital for stomachache. After diagnosing her, the doctor prescribed medicines for a liver-related issue. But these were not available at the Jan Aushadhi Kendra, forcing her to stand in queue for long at the private chemist shop.
Another patient coming from Mohali who underwent a knee operation at the hospital shared the Jan Aushadhi Kendra stocked medicines only for fever, blood pressure and diabetes: “For all other ailments, patients have to turn to the sole private chemist shop where medicines are much costlier.”
Speaking about the high rent, UT chief engineer CB Ojha explained that the rents were calculated with a standard formula, given the present condition, market value, etc. A senior UT administration official shared that provisions for relaxation to attract bidders were available in the tendering process, but it was up to the health department to utilise them.