North MCD may merge 4 of its hospitals, hand over one to Delhi govt
Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine & Tuberculosis to be merged with MVID hospital and Kasturba hospital with Girdhari Lal hospital to cut down on administrative and other recurring expenses
Unable to operate its hospitals due to lack of funds, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation is now planning to merge four of its hospitals.
Sources said the north civic body had also proposed to hand over Balakram hospital, which is under construction, to the Delhi government once it became fully operational.
Officials said the corporation was planning to merge Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine & Tuberculosis with MVID hospital and Kasturba hospital with Girdhari Lal hospital to cut down on administrative and other recurring expenses.
“Merging the hospitals will bring down annual expenses by at least `100 crore. This amount can be used to improve other services provided by the civic body,” said a senior municipal official.
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The official, however, maintained that the Hindu Rao hospital would continue to operate as a single entity.
As per its estimates, the north corporation on average spends close to `400 crore on its five hospitals. “The corporation charges `5 as receipt. However, since issuing the receipt is costlier than `5, it is incurring losses. Through the merger, we plan to cut down on our losses,” said a top municipal official.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has been reeling under a large deficit, which is likely to top `2,700 crore for the current financial year.