Gr Noida: Locals oppose hospital plot allotment to private players

Residents in Greater Noida oppose plans to auction hospital plots to private firms, demanding government-built facilities for affordable healthcare access.

Residents of Greater Noida and Yamuna City have opposed the Greater Noida authority (GNIDA) and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority’s (Yeida) plans to allot hospital plots to private players, demanding that the government build healthcare facilities to provide affordable services. They argue that private hospitals charge exorbitant fees that the middle class, lower middle class, and economically weaker sections (EWS) cannot afford.

Gr Noida: Locals oppose hospital plot allotment to private players

According to officials, GNIDA has offered four hospital plots under its recent e-auction scheme, where the highest bidder will secure the plots. The authority intends to maximise revenue through this method. Similarly, Yeida had planned to auction hospital plots in Yamuna City but dropped the proposal after facing stiff resistance from residents.

“We have filed a complaint before the Greater Noida authority, Yeida, and three MLAs—Noida MLA Pankaj Singh, Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, and Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh—highlighting that Greater Noida has only one government hospital, which is grossly inadequate for the city’s population. Around 90% of plots earmarked for hospitals are already allotted to private players,” said Alok Singh, founder member of the Active Citizen Team, which has written to the UP government on the issue. “In Yamuna City there is no government hospital under development. We demand that hospital plots be allotted only to the government health department or developed by the authorities to serve the middle class and EWS people.”

Currently, Gautam Budh Nagar district has only one district hospital in Noida’s Sector 39, a pediatric hospital in Sector 30, and a handful of primary health centres. “These facilities are not adequate to handle the rising patient load. If authorities privatize healthcare the way they have done with education, most people in these urban areas will not have access to quality services,” said Harendra Bhati, another member of the Active Citizen Team.

The concern has also been raised in the Uttar Pradesh assembly. Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh brought up the issue during the monsoon session on August 12 and later met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who assured him of government intervention. “We apprised the Chief Minister about this crucial issue affecting the EWS population. With lakhs of people employed in Noida, Greater Noida, and soon Yamuna City—driven by the upcoming Noida international airport—healthcare infrastructure must match population growth. We cannot leave this sector to private players, as everyone cannot afford their hefty charges. The government will now focus on developing hospitals,” Singh said.

Responding to public concerns, Yeida’s officer on special duty, Shailendra Bhatia, said the authority is prioritising public healthcare. “Yeida does not want to encourage only private players. We are already allotting six acres of land for a trauma centre to be developed by the government health department. In future, hospital plots in residential areas will also be allotted to the health department so affordable services reach the needy,” Bhatia said.

Officials from both authorities noted that Noida and Greater Noida already house populations of around a million each, with numbers projected to grow manifold as undeveloped areas are completed. Residents and experts fear that without government intervention, healthcare infrastructure will fall short of demand.