Infected by hurdles, Karnal hospital runs from ‘borrowed’ building

The District Civil Hospital here has been operating from a “borrowed” building of Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (KCGMC) for the past eight years. Despite repeated announcements and reminders, the project of the new building for the District Civil Hospital remains stuck in absence of transfer of land from the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).

Officials said after the transfer of the land, the construction work will start. Sources indicate that the HSVP has already sent the file to the state headquarters, but it remains pending at the higher level.

The original Civil Hospital building, inaugurated on April 17, 1911 in the name of King Edward Hospital, was a century-old structure with no scope for expansion. In 2010, the then Congress government converted the Civil Hospital into KCGMC, and transferred the land in the name of KCGMC in December 2012. Later, in April 2017, then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the hospital’s reinstatement, and it resumed operations on December 1, 2017 from the old building, after staff repatriation. Since then, however, the Civil Hospital has continued to function from the premises already allotted to the KCGMC, highlighting the pressing demand for a new, independent hospital building.

The urgency for a new building stems from the shortage of space in the existing hospital. Due to the space constraints, the Civil Surgeon’s office and Deputy Civil Surgeons’ offices are functioning at different locations in rented building, causing inconvenience to patients and the public.

To address this, the government identified a 9.5-acre area in Sector 32, near Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk, as the site for the new hospital. An earlier proposal for a 13.5-acre plot was dropped because of overhead power lines. The HSVP has already finalised architectural drawings through an agency, and the design includes more than 200 beds and modern healthcare facilities.

The proposed hospital will feature a cardiac unit, CATH lab, MRI and CT scan facilities, dialysis centre, de-addiction centre, ICU, PICU, maternal and child health wing, a well-equipped emergency department, training centre, administrative block, residential complex, and support services such as a kitchen and laundry.

Initially, the project was included in the Karnal Smart City plan, which had approved a budget of Rs 100 crore. Later, it was transferred to the Health Department. The overall construction cost is now estimated at Rs 300 crore, sources said.

The delays have been raised at several forums. Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand raised the issue in Haryana Assembly, while the Haryana Assembly’s committee on Education, Technical, Vocational, Medical Education and Health discussed it during their July 25 visit and it was suggested that the building may be constructed on the line of Panchkula Medical College, which is being constructed on the land of the HSVP by the HSVP itself. This medical college will further be handed over to DMER for services.

Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr Ravinder Sandhu said, “We are waiting for the land to be allotted in the name of the department. Several reminders have been sent regarding the land.”

Civil Surgeon Dr Poonam Chaudhary said, “We are in constant touch with the HSVP and higher authorities, and once the land is allotted and transferred to the Health Department, the process will move forward.” HSVP Estate Officer Aditi confirmed that the file was forwarded to the higher authorities. “Further process will be initiated after approval,” she said.