Sevenhills offers to build hosp for poor

The SevenHills Healthcare Private Limited (SHHPL) on Friday informed the Bombay high court that it was ready to construct a 300-bed hospital for patients referred by civic hospitals.

The SevenHills Healthcare Private Limited (SHHPL) on Friday informed the Bombay high court that it was ready to construct a 300-bed hospital for patients referred by civic hospitals.

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SHHPL, which runs a super-specialty hospital, said it would construct a new building on its existing premises at Marol and hand it over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The submission comes in the wake of the row between the two parties over reserving 20% of the hospital services for poor patients as per the tender conditions stipulated by the BMC.

Following a survey by the dean of a civic hospital, the BMC had earlier filed an affidavit stating that poor patients were ill-treated and discouraged from getting admitted to the high-end hospital constructed on the BMC land.

The hospital was aggrieved that the BMC was not issuing an NOC to avail of mortgage from a bank to secure a loan for the functioning of the hospital.

The judges expressed their unhappiness with the BMC's attitude that has created obstacles for the hospital, and ordered the civic body to issue a fresh NOC or face action.

The BMC's counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni said that the civic body would take the SHHPL's proposal into consideration.

The court has now directed the hospital to submit a written proposal to the corporation within one week and the corporation will have to take a decision within two weeks thereafter.