Land prices set to hurt nursing

Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 10

The UT Administration has fixed the reserve price of sites for nursing homes between Rs 7 crore and Rs 9 crore, leaving medical practitioners and NGOs working in the field of providing treatment at cheaper rates a disappointed lot.

A majority of the practitioners and NGOs, which have been waiting for the past 10 years to set up nursing homes, said the new rates would make the sites out of bounds for them. The Administration has included three sites for nursing homes in the properties it plans to auction soon. The three sites are situated in Sector 44, 46 and 51.

The reserve price of sites for nursing homes has been increased by almost 10 times as the Estate Office has calculated it on the basis of the current collector rates.

For a plot measuring 611 sq yards, meant for a nursing home, the reserve price has been fixed at Rs 7,21,10,980 in Sector 44, while the reserve price for a plot measuring 592 sq yards in Sector 46 has been fixed at Rs 6,99,20,900 and the reserve price for a plot measuring 763 sq yards in Sector 51 has been fixed at Rs 9,00,72,940.

Last, the Administration had sold nursing home sites in 2004. The reserve price for the sites was fixed at Rs 11,500 per sq yard, while now the price has been increased more than 10 times and fixed at Rs 1,18,000 per sq yard.

After 10 years, the Estate Office has started the process for the auction of 43 residential and 30 commercial sites.

‘Land should be provided at nominal rates’ 

We run medical centres all over the country and provide treatment and diagnostic facilities at nominal rates. The Administration should provide land at cheap rates so that NGOs can provide treatment to the common man at nominal rates. The Rajasthan Government had allotted 30 acres to the parishad to establish a cancer research centre at nominal rates at Kota   where we are running a 300-bed hospital. — Ajay Dutta, national secy gen, Bharat Vikas Parishad  

Instead of holding an auction, the government should allot land on the pattern of schools. Equating nursing home sites with commercial properties is not justified and it will make treatment more costly. At a time when the rush at government hospitals is increasing by the day, the Administration should promote the private sector by giving concessions. — Dr Neeraj Kumar, president, IMA, Chandigarh