PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, May 6: The construction of the 500-bed super-speciality project at Sadar Hospital, Ranchi started in 2007 will take another year to be handed over to the hospital management.
According to insider information, few works are pending in the hospital which will take one or even more than a year for the building to be handed over to the hospital management.
Even after the Jharkhand High Court took strong objection to the unfinished work at the Ranchi district hospital, it has missed deadlines regularly.
A visit to the new building of Sadar Hospital by lagatar24.com correspondent revealed that many works are still incomplete or are progressing at a very slow pace.
The construction agency, Vijeta Projects and Infrastructure Limited engineer, engaged in the construction and installation of services at the hospital said that due to the delay in the payment by Jharkhand State Building Construction Corporation Limited (JSBCCL), several works in the hospital are still pending.
When contacted an engineer associated with the project said: “The major bottleneck is the non-payment to the smaller vendors that are working on the ground. Vijeta Construction has been defaulting on their payments and this is the reason the work is getting delayed.”
However, JSBCCL Executive Engineer Sunil Kumar denied the fact of non-payment and said that in March 2022, the payment was done. Another bill has been sent by the builders on which scrutiny is being done, after which the cheque will be released.
“98% of the work is completed with some minor ones left in the operation theatre and fire fighting system. The major issue in handing over the hospital is the manpower needed to make the hospital operational. Regarding the manpower, we have written a letter to the Civil Surgeon. As soon as we get the required manpower to make the hospital operational, they will be trained by the respective vendors about the functioning of the equipment and the hospital will be handed to the hospital management,” added Sunil.
Deputy Superintendent of Sadar Hospital, Dr SS Mandal said that near about Rs 35 crores is due to the builders. In such a case, how can someone expect that building will be handed over by the same?
On the question of when the hospital will be handed over to the hospital management, Dr Mandal said: “I cannot even guess when the hospital will be handed over to the hospital management.”
Notably, in 2016, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Jharkhand high court over hospital’s inoperation. The health department had informed the court that it would complete the first phase of Sadar super specialty hospital by March 2017.
However, in the next hearing of PIL in April 2017, the department had told Jharkhand high court that it would start functioning of the hospital with 200 beds in July 2017.
After this, the deadline failed in December 2018, June 2019, December 2019, April 2020, May 2021, June 2021, September 2021, October 2021, January 2022 and February 2022.
It is to be known that the construction of the 500-bed super-speciality project started in 2007 and it is yet to be completed with the original budget inflating from Rs 127 crore to almost Rs 350 crore now.
“I had joined as a medical officer in 2007 when the building’s construction had started. I have been promoted at least thrice then but the project is yet to be completed,” a senior health department official said.
