Gurgaon: Uncertainty has resurfaced over the agency that will execute the proposed 600-bed civil hospital, even after around Rs 70 crore was transferred to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for the project, health minister Arti Singh Rao said on Sunday, alleging that some political people were trying to create hurdles in its construction.Addressing a public meeting in Daulatabad, Rao said the health department had transferred the money to HSIIDC after the agency was finalised and the chief minister’s office approved the arrangement. The funds remain with HSIIDC, which has initiated the tender process. However, she said she had recently learnt that at a meeting chaired by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini to review development works in the city, some people had discussed not having HSIIDC construct the hospital.Rao appealed to those involved not to politicise the project, saying the priority should be to ensure that Gurgaon residents get affordable treatment at the earliest. “The agency building a govt hospital should not become a political issue,” she said.She did not name the people she accused of creating hurdles, nor did she publicly identify who had proposed that HSIIDC should not execute the project.The minister said several years had already been lost in finalising the executing agency and completing the land transfer. CPWD had initially been assigned the work before responsibility was shifted to Public Works Department (PWD). Citing delays, govt subsequently decided to entrust the project to HSIIDC. Rao urged officials and others involved in decision-making to ensure that the project moved forward without further delay.She said govt was working to expedite construction and had revised the hospital’s design after consulting experts, to incorporate modern healthcare facilities, including a separate ward for infectious diseases such as COVID-19.She said she and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh wanted it to come up at the existing site so that residents, particularly those from middle-income and economically weaker sections, could access affordable treatment closer to home.The location and the number of beds had remained subjects of prolonged discussions, she said. She credited Rao Inderjit Singh with pushing for an increase in the hospital’s proposed capacity, saying his efforts had helped secure a larger facility. There had also been a dispute over the land when she took charge as health minister, she said, and govt’s focus should now be on beginning construction rather than allowing disagreements over the executing agency or location to delay the project further.The proposed hospital is expected to strengthen public healthcare in the city where private hospitals provide extensive medical services, but treatment costs can be prohibitive for many residents. The old civil hospital in Civil Lines was demolished in 2021 after repeated structural failures. The replacement project has since faced delays involving the executing agency, land-related formalities and the proposed scale of the facility.Meanwhile, the existing primary health centre (PHC) in Daulatabad is being upgraded into a 30-bed community health centre (CHC), Rao said. The facility is expected to serve around 1.7 lakh people through PHCs in Daulatabad, Garhi Harsaru and Hazipur. It is planned to have round-the-clock emergency services, a labour room, diagnostic tests, X-ray facilities and a newborn stabilisation unit. Plans also include specialist services in gynaecology, paediatrics and anaesthesia. Caesarean deliveries will be introduced once the required specialists and infrastructure are available.Around 3.1 acres have been identified for the new building. Land demarcation has been completed, and architectural plans are being prepared. Construction will begin after the plans and cost estimate are approved.In Siddhrawali, a new PHC has started providing medical consultations, diagnostic tests and free medicines. It has a medical officer, staff nurse, pharmacist and laboratory technician and is expected to serve more than 42,000 people. The centre is operating from a 26-room building spread across around 2.7 acres, donated to the health department by Mahant Mahamandaleshwar Rameshwar Das Maharaj. A labour room is being prepared to introduce delivery services.A new sub-health centre in Rathiwas, built at a cost of Rs 55.5 lakh on around half an acre, is expected to serve more than 8,000 people. Constructed by the zila parishad, it provides maternal and child healthcare, routine immunisation and screening for non-communicable diseases through two auxiliary nurse midwives, supported by ASHA workers.
