Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh has directed the health officials to recover ₹3.29 crore paid to Fortunes Sparsh Healthcare Pvt Ltd Hospital three years ago. The amount will be deducted from the pending bill amount of an Auto Cluster Covid centre run by the firm, said officials on Friday.
According to the civic officials, during the Covid pandemic, Sparsh hospital was allotted a tender to run two Covid Care Centres (CCC) for 90 days at Smurti Mangal Karyalay, Hira Lawns; and one Covid Care Hospital (CCH) at Auto Cluster. Both the CCCs had capacity of 300 beds each. However, during the pandemic, while no patient was treated at the facility, the then additional municipal commissioner Ajit Pawar had allegedly paid ₹3.29 crore to the hospital.
Following this, social activists approached the Bombay High Court and filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in 2022. The issue was also raised by former MLA late Laxman Jagtap at the state assembly in 2021. The then PCMC commissioner Shravan Hardikar launched an investigation into the issue in February 2021 and the payment of ₹5.93 crore for the Auto Cluster Covid centre was put on hold on February 12, 2021, pending inquiry. The high court directed PCMC commissioner Shekhar Singh on January 4, 2024, to conduct an inquiry into the matter and take appropriate decisions. During the investigation, it was revealed that no patient was referred to the two CCCs as PCMC health officials had highlighted lack of facilities at these facilities.
“The then additional municipal commissioner had overruled the objections raised by the account officer of the health department to clear the bills of these two covid centres. He also cleared the bills without taking any written approval from the PCMC commissioner of that time,” reads the order issued by PCMC on January 2, 2024.
{{/usCountry}}“The then additional municipal commissioner had overruled the objections raised by the account officer of the health department to clear the bills of these two covid centres. He also cleared the bills without taking any written approval from the PCMC commissioner of that time,” reads the order issued by PCMC on January 2, 2024.
{{/usCountry}}Shekhar Singh, PCMC commissioner, on Friday, said, “We have given the order that the money paid to Sparsh hospital for its two Covid Care Centres in the past should be recovered. The amount is likely to be deducted from the pending bill amount of its Covid Hospital at Auto Cluster. The payment of the Auto Cluster unit was put on hold by PCMC as few people had gone to the court on the issue of payment of CCCs. The hospital had approached the high court for the pending payment. The high court had asked PCMC to take a decision on merit and following which the decision was taken.”
Dr Amol Halkunde, chief executive officer, Fortunes Sparsh Healthcare Pvt Ltd Hospital, said, “We had approached the high court over our pending dues and its order passed on January 4, 2024, directed PCMC to clear the dues within six weeks. PCMC owes us around ₹5.93 crore. The PCMC decision has been taken in haste. We plan to file a petition in the court against the decision taken by the civic body.”