Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar puts hospital project on fast track

GURUGRAM: Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday gave a deadline of December 10 to the district administration to start the construction of the new Civil Hospital in Civil Lines and fast-track the transfer of 2.5 acres of land from the education department, which has been holding up the project for the past two years.

A 500-bed, six-storey multi-specialty hospital has been proposed to come up in Civil Lines in place of the existing one.The old hospital site, which is spread over seven acres, will be expanded to nine acres by using a portion of land from an adjoining government senior secondary boys’ school. However, the project got stuck as the land acquisition process was delayed.
Built about 50 years ago, the Civil Hospital has witnessed at least six incidents of ceiling collapse in the past two years. In a report, the public works department (PWD) had recommended that the entire building be pulled down to avoid future mishaps.
Khattar also instructed the education department to construct a wall between the school and the upcoming hospital by December 10. He said the tasks should be completed before the schools reopen.
The department has also been told to transfer students to Sukhrali government school in case of space issues.
Stressing on better infrastructure, the CM directed the health department to shift its office to a designated area to facilitate the construction work of the new building. “We will shift the CMO office to the MCG office in Sector 38. The CT scan and MRI test centre will move to the basement of the Sector 10 Civil Hospital,” Gurgaon chief medical officer Virender Yadav.
In 2012, the state government had spent over Rs 20 crore to upgrade the hospital building. Apart from renovation work, expensive equipment was also installed. But ceilings appeared to have been overlooked in most wards. In 2015, after the ceiling of the hospital’s maternity ward collapsed thrice, authorities decided to move that ward to General Hospital in Sector 10. A year later, the ceiling of the ICU ward also collapsed, and hospital staff and patients had a narrow escape. Last year, the government approved Rs 260 crore for the revamp.
More than 2,000 patients visit the OPD of the Civil Hospital in Civil Lines. In the past one decade, healthcare facilities have not been able to keep pace with Gurgaon’s population surge. As many people can’t afford treatment in private hospitals, hundreds of patients visit the government hospital in Sector 10.