FIs sell hospital to Kanchi Mutt

The trustees were unable to repay the principal and the interest of Rs 14.5 crore as they could not generate profit because of the hospitals’ low tariff. The financial institutions’ put the hospital on the block and filed a suit in 1996 in the Bombay High Court for recovery. The court permitted the hospital trustees to manage the day-to-day affairs but at a price of Rs one lakh per month as royalty.

In the meanwhile, several hospitals in Chennai, Apollo Hospital, Ramachandra Medical College and ResearchInstitute and Shankara Netralaya and a few NRIs were serious contenders to take over the hospital. Since the trustees were reluctant to hand over the hospital to any private profit motivated institutions, they went to the senior sage of Kanchi, Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal and requested him to rescue the hospital.

The Kanchi Seer evinced keen interest in the hospital and convinced the financial institutions of the genuine interest of the Sankara Mutt in preserving and protecting the charitable character of the hospital.

Consent terms in the suit filed in the Bombay High Court were drawn up and the Mutt arranged the payment of Rs 5.5 crore towards the principal loan amount and the balance was to paid in four months. Educationist and promoter-director of erstwhile Croslands Laboratories, V Shankar and industrialist A C Muthiah were appointed as the new trustees of the hospital.