Staff sanctioned, but no building: Six years on, Indore's 'ghost hospital' remains on paper

Indore, Jul 6 (PTI) In Madhya Pradesh's Indore, a 100-bed hospital exists perfectly on paper, but the reality is rather paper-thin, as despite having 87 staff members assigned to the facility, not a single brick has been laid for the structure, which was approved six years ago. Frustrated residents of the densely populated Khajrana area and social media users have dubbed the project a "ghost hospital" because, despite official staffing and budget approvals, the site remains just a vacant plot, as the health authorities have not received possession of the land. They are questioning how transfers are being made in its name when the hospital building itself does not exist. Officials on Monday said that the process to set up the 100-bed civil hospital was initiated in 2019 and approved for construction in 2020 to provide better medical facilities to the population of approximately five lakh in Khajrana and the surrounding areas. Following this, a total of 87 posts for doctors, nurses, lab technicians and pharmacists, etc., were approved for the hospital in accordance with government procedure, but the designated staff was now deployed at other medical facilities, they said. Talking to PTI, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Hasani said, "The land has been allotted to us for the Khajrana Civil Hospital, but we have not yet received possession of the plot, and hence, it could not be handed over to the construction agency." As the hospital could not be built on time, the staff allocated for the facility has been deployed in 85 Chief Minister Sanjivani clinics and other medical institutions in the city, he said. According to residents, Khajrana, a Muslim-dominated area, lacks a big government hospital, and patients have to rely on the Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (MYH) and other government facilities for treatment. Only debris and garbage can be seen heaped on the five-acre plot allotted for the civil hospital, said Tabrez Mansoori, a resident of the area. This is a hospital that appears to have everything on paper, but is invisible on the ground, he rued. "We lost loved ones during the COVID-19 outbreak. So we know the value of a hospital." The administration issued a statement on Monday night after news of the hospital in Khajrana gained traction. In the statement, District Magistrate Shivam Verma, based on a detailed report received from the Chief Medical Officer, stated that the primary reason for the delay in the hospital's construction is the failure to "actually transfer" the land allotted to the Health Department. The construction process for the hospital building has not begun due to the Indore Municipal Corporation currently using the land, but the necessary formalities will be completed soon, it said. No government purchases of any medicines or equipment have been made in the name of the proposed hospital so far, it added. "The state Public Health and Family Welfare Department had approved 87 posts for this hospital in 2021. Of these, 29 staff nurses, five pharmacists, and one lab technician have been appointed so far. The technician has been posted," the statement informed. It however, reiterated that no orders have been issued at any level to post any doctor for the proposed hospital. PTI HWP MAS ARU BNM