Hospitals ask GMADA to withdraw condition

“We are not liable to abide by this directive as no such condition was imposed in our land allotments,” said the hospital promoters while responding to the notices issued by GMADA and Mohali Civil Surgeon.

Recently,all the nine private hospitals operating in Mohali were asked to provide free treatment to BPL patients on the ground that they were allotted sites on concessional rates.

In a joint representation,Silver Oaks Hospital,Cosmo Hospital,Chandigarh Hospitals and Research Centre,and Y P Singla Hospital have claimed they were allotted land under the PUDA policy of 1996 at “Cost Plus” basis rather than concessional rates.

“For that reason,the condition/obligation now sought to be saddled onto us is wholly unjustified and contrary to the terms governing our allotments,” they averred,while arguing that there cannot be any legal or contractual ground to unilaterally amend the concluded contract.

Rejecting the post facto amendment or modification of allotment letters for their freehold sites,the hospitals’ promoters said it was on August 8,2000,when the PUDA policy was revised to impose such condition. “Some hospitals allotted sites in 2005 were given several concessions and their allotment letters clearly mentioned condition to provide free treatment to BPL patients,” they revealed.

Instead,the senior doctors pointed out that they were the only takers for the hospital sites when there was no development,infrastructure or market for the healthcare sector in Mohali,whereas rest 11 letter of intent (LOI) holders,which included some of the established and leading players in healthcare sector,had withdrawn while cited high land cost,lack of market and non-viability,following which their LOIs were cancelled.

Later,PUDA again advertised hospital sites in Mohali on September 8,1997,at the same rates as in 1996 policy but there were no takers.

“We were the only persons to take the risk to develop health care infrastructure in areas which did not even have roads and water availability,” asserted the promoters,while accusing GMADA of “illegally going overboard to impose conditions of new policy in previous allotments made under old policy”.

GMADA Estate Officer Balbir Singh Dhol said GMADA Chief Administrator would soon hold meeting with Health officials and hospital promoters to look into all aspects and reach some unanimous conclusion.