10 govt hospitals stuck in clearance muddle

Nearly 10 more hospitals in various parts of the Capital await necessary clearance to start construction from agencies concerned such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) etc., since more than a year.

It took almost three years for the Delhi government to get approval to start construction of 200-bed hospital in north Delhi’s Burari area.

HT Image

Nearly 10 more hospitals in various parts of the Capital await necessary clearance to start construction from agencies concerned such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) etc., since more than a year. “We had applied for the building plan for the Burari hospital in February 2009, and the map was passed only last week. Not just for construction of new hospitals but addition of beds in our existing hospitals, it takes us years to get the clearance,” said AK Walia, Delhi health minister.

The application for addition of 100 beds in Maharishi Valmiki Hospital in Pooth Khurd is pending before the civic agency since September 2009. Other hospitals in the list include Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital and Guru Gobind Singh Hospital.

“The files keep shunting between the town planning department and the building department, and without the permission, construction is not possible,” said Walia. Land allotted for hospitals by DDA years ago in areas such as Madipur, Chattarpur and Jwalapuri, among others, also await permission for change of land use. “It’s DDA’s gram sabha land and needs permission for land use change to begin the project. It’s been five months since I had the last review meeting with them,” said Walia.

The rising prices also mean increase in construction cost. “The cost varies between R100 crore to R150 crore for 100 and 200 hospital beds. With increase in construction cost, overall budget shoots up,” added Walia.

The agencies concerned, however, claim there is a set protocol, and clearances cannot be issued unless the government fulfils necessary criteria.

“Allotment of any land should be done after the change of land use. In this case, the government must have got the land allotted first. For hospitals, minute details like access road for free movement of ambulance etc. matter. There must be some lapse on their part that they need to look at,” said a senior DDA official, requesting anonymity.