NEW DELHI: Delhi L-G V K Saxena on Thursday flagged inordinate delays in hospital projects which have been behind schedule for several years. Terming the delay ‘a matter of grave concern,’ the L-G has written to CM Arvind Kejriwal stating that timely completion of the projects would have resulted in about 12,500 additional beds for the people of Delhi.
“I seek to draw your attention towards inordinately delayed hospital projects that are running late and behind schedule by years against their stipulated time of completion. It is indeed a matter of grave concern for Delhi, the National Capital of India, where even as the population grows exponentially, something as basic as the addition of beds and blocks to even existing hospitals is lagging behind for unfathomable reasons,” the letter read.
According to data shared by PWD sources, completion of healthcare projects, which include the creation of five new hospitals and expanding the number of beds at 13 existing buildings, have now been pushed to the year 2025.“If completed on time, (these hospital beds) would have come to the rescue of thousands of Delhi residents who suffered on account of non-availability of beds during the Pandemic” the L-G wrote.
According to the official data, the projects were undertaken by the PWD at a cost of over Rs 3,200 crore to add over 12,000 beds. Eight of these projects were initiated before 2019. Nine were started during Covid in 2020 and 2021 while renovation at one has been ongoing since 2014, the data showed. Out of the 18 hospitals, work on three has been held up due to various reasons. The completion date for augmentation projects at 11 hospitals has been revised to 2024 while one has been extended to 2025.
