The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to upgrade “partially dysfunctional” Balak Ram hospital to 200-bedded facility even after failing to fulfill its previous promise to upgrade the hospital to 100 beds in the last 14 years. Following which the estimated cost of construction has shot up from Rs24.3 crore to Rs68.86 crore.
According to the North Corporation officials, the Health Department decided to revise the existing proposal from 100-bedded to 200-bedded hospital in a bid to facilitate large public.
A report stated, “the proposal for 200-bedded hospital is propagated by the Health Department for optimal use of present resources. Also, once the department goes ahead with the present proposal of 100-bedded hospital, then the future expansion will not be possible.”
“The North Delhi Municipal Corporation, as announced earlier, has approved setting up a super specialty hospital in Timarpur and has fixed a 2-year time to complete construction work. If things go well, people living in the area will get better hospital facility,” said Pravesh Wahi, Chairman of Standing Committee.
While the hospital remains a pipe dream though it is functional, Opposition leaders charged the North Delhi Municipal Corporation leaders of corrupt practices owing to such a huge increase in the cost of the project.
The officials said the work for construction of Outer Patient Department (OPD) and Service blocks has been completed and even OPD is functional at present. The work of hostel for nurses is also in progress while work of 100-bedded ward block has been taken up and given to a private construction firm. later in January 2015, Commissioner PK Gupta had directed to revise the proposal from 100-bedded hospital to 200-bedded hospital and process the case for revise administrative approval and expenditure sanction.