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Mohali’s Medicity project a laggard

Hindustan Times, Mohali | By, Mohali
Nov 29, 2019 01:11 AM IST

Eight years on, only four hospitals have come forward to develop medical facilities over 9.2 acres out of 100 acres of New Chandigarh project; GMADA also fails to find takers for nursing centres

Eight years after the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) launched the Medicity project in New Chandigarh to provide housing facilities for doctors and medical staff, only four hospitals have shown interest in the project to date.

The four hospitals include Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, Chaitanya Paediatrics and Gynae Hospital, Grewal Eyes Hospital, and Max Multispeciality Hospital.

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Launched in 2011, the Medicity is an initiative by the state government to create a hub of medical facilities of which around 100 acres of land has been reserved for multispecialty hospitals and medical research institutes.

While the construction for the Tata hospital is in full swing and is likely to be completed in March 2020, the other three hospitals, who respectively got possession of 1.2 acres, 3 acres and 5 acres around four years back, have yet to start the construction. Their owners say they were waiting for social infrastructure to develop in the area.

On the other hand, GMADA had been putting nursing hospital sites in the Medicity for e-auction for the past four months, but failed to find any takers.

GMADA estate officer Sanjeev Kumar said, “We will put the nursing sites for auction in March next year and hopefully get a good response.”

WHAT HOLDS THEM BACK?

Managing director of Chaitanya Hospital, Dr Neeraj Kumar, said, “We are waiting for social infrastructure to develop in the area. We got the possession of the plot around five years back, but the development of the area was delayed. Social infrastructure is crucial to run ant hospital.”

Notably, GMADA had completed the works of roads, bridges, streetlighting and other civil and allied external development for the project around two years back.

SPS Grewal, Managing director of Grewal Eye Institute said they will start the work soon. On asking why it is delayed, he refused to comment.

AFTER HICCUPS, CANCER HOSPITAL ON TRACK

In 2017, the Union department of atomic energy had awarded the 218-crore construction work of the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, christened as Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The total cost of the project is 480 crore, which includes equipment and construction.

Shaprooji Pallonji engineering and construction assistant general manager (projects) Dharmendra Kumar Kaushik, said, “The building was expected to be ready by May 2019, however, the pace of the construction slowed down due to non-availability of building material because of mining and crusher-related issues. However, no we are hopeful the building will be ready by March next year.”

The institution will be a tertiary care centre for cancer and promoting its prevention, cure, rehabilitation and palliation for the population of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

SELF-CONTAINED MEDICAL CAMPUS PROJECT

The Medicity in New Chandigarh (Mullanpur) comprises 18 multispeciality/superspeciality hospital sites, a medical research institute, an ancillary site, housing facilities for doctors and paramedical staff and a budget inn for attendants. The campus offers two sites for medical colleges-cum-hospitals, a convention centre, laundry, incinerating unit and a dedicated dumping facility, making it a self-contained medical campus.

The reserve price of land has been fixed after considering acquisition cost and providing services such as sewerage, water supply, electricity, rain storm water disposal. The price of land is 5.5 crore per acre for medical college and 6 crore per acre for hospitals inclusive of EDC and CLU charges. Price of the land is payable in instalments spread over eight years.

Also coming up in Medicity is the satellite centre of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Sarangpur, which is projected to provide out-patient department (OPD) screening facility that shall refer only the tertiary care patients (those in need of hospital and advanced investigation) to the PGIMER.

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