New JJ hospital building only 24 % complete in three years

The ₹700 crore project will also house a VVIP ward and cardiovascular, neurosurgery, paediatric, urology, gastroenterology, surgical oncology, neurology, endocrinology, paediatrics, nephrology, chest and pulmonary diseases, pharmacology, haematology, rheumatology, medical oncology, and other departments

Mumbai: Three years after the construction work on JJ Hospital’s super specialty hospital building started, the contractor has not only missed the July 20 deadline but only 24% of the work has been completed.

The contractor was supposed to complete the work in 36 months. (Hindustan Times)

The state medical education department and public works department (PWD) have now decided to hold a meeting on Monday to review the slow pace of work and to decide whether the contractor should be given more time or a new contractor should be appointed.

At present, the hospital has 1,200 beds. After the new building, which will accommodate another 1,200 beds, is completed, JJ hospital will be the largest in Mumbai. The super specialty building is supposed to be ten storeys with two basements.

The ₹700 crore project will also house a VVIP ward and cardiovascular, neurosurgery, paediatric, urology, gastroenterology, surgical oncology, neurology, endocrinology, paediatrics, nephrology, chest and pulmonary diseases, pharmacology, haematology, rheumatology, medical oncology, and other departments.

Sources said the contractor has been fined more than ₹4 crore and has been issued a show cause notice as well. Wanting to take stringent action, the department is considering bringing in a new contractor to finish the job.

“The deadline ended on July 20, after which the contractor assured us that the work will be done by August 2023. The contractor is now saying he needs a two-year extension. Even then, there are chances he won’t be able to finish the work till 2026,” said a senior health official from the medical education department.

“The contractor has been giving excuses for the Covid-19 pandemic delaying the construction work. He also claims piling work took time because of the rocky underground. As per the plan, digging had to be done for the two-level basement. He also said tree-cutting permission was not given on time. However, all these reasons are not enough for three years of delay. Only 24% of the work has been done in three years,” said the official.

The PWD, which is supervising the work, has penalised the contractor ₹1.52 lakh per day for the delay.

The super speciality hospital was planned in 2010, and the then chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad had put it on the fast track. When the BJP government took over in 2014, the then medical education minister Girish Mahajan got all the sanctions. The Bhoomi Poojan was done in 2019, and the work order was issued in July 2020. The contractor was supposed to complete the work in 36 months (about three years).