3 years on, Dwarka yet to get its first hospital

More than three years since the Delhi government announced a hospital for Dwarka, over six-lakh population of the sub-city continues to rely on private practitioners and costly nursing homes for medical emergencies

More than three years since the Delhi government announced a hospital for Dwarka, over six-lakh population of the sub-city continues to rely on private practitioners and costly nursing homes for medical emergencies.

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The 750-bed Bharat Ratna Indira Gandhi multi-specialty hospital project, which will be constructed on a 15-acre plot, has not moved beyond drawing boards.

The state government had approved the project in October 2007, and had even sanctioned R350 crore for it. Sources, however, said the government has not been able to decide whether to invest its own money in the project or invite participation from private players, resulting in delay.

While the population of Dwarka continues to increase, residents said there is not even a single government hospital or dispensary. The nearest good hospital, said residents, is in Janakpuri, which is 7-8 kilometres from the sub-city. Interestingly, the building of a super-specialty hospital in Janakpuri is ready for almost two years but the hospital has yet to start functioning.

“We have acquired another 10-acre plot next to the proposed site where we plan to construct a medical college. We now have to take a call whether it would be a good idea to have a hospital on public-private partnership model besides a government-run medical college. It is a policy matter and we will take a decision soon,” health minister Kiran Walia said.

Though the government had mooted the proposal for a medical college in Dwarka, which would be third in the Capital, along with the plan for this multi-specialty hospital, Walia said the Delhi Development Authority allotted land for medical college only in December 2010.

Meanwhile, public works department (PWD) officials said they are ready with the layout plan for the hospital and can start construction anytime.

“We had appointed a consultant who prepared a layout plan and had submitted the plan to the health department more than a year ago. (But) we have yet to hear anything,” said a senior PWD engineer requesting anonymity. “We had earlier mobilised our entire team to finish Commonwealth Games-related projects. Now most infrastructure projects are complete, so we can easily take up the hospital project,” the engineer added.