No funds, Patiala's Mata Kaushalya Government Hospital owes Rs 2 crore to power corporation

Karam Prakash

Patiala, August 1

Amid financial crunch for over a year now, Mata Kaushalya Government Hospital has failed to pay an outstanding power bill of Rs 2 crore. The hospital has not paid its electricity bills for the past one-and-a-half year.

We have already written to the PHSC to release funds so that electricity bill can be paid. Dr Varinder Garg, Medical Superintendent, Mata Kaushalya Hospital

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Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had to serve a notice to the hospital to recover pending dues. It has been learnt that the PSPCL has threatened hospital with cutting its power supply if the pending amount is not paid in the coming days.

The hospital authorities claimed that they had not received funds from the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC). The authorities said they had run out of funds to pay electricity bill.

In fact, the normal functioning of the hospital has also been impacted owing to the paucity of funds. A senior official of the hospital, said, “The government must ensure funds and infrastructure for hospitals if it wants to provide good health facilities to the poor people.”

Dr Varinder Garg, Medical Superintendent, Mata Kaushalya Hospital, said, “We have already written to the PHSC to release funds so that electricity bill can be paid.”

Many health centres and civil hospitals in the district have not paid electricity bill for over past one year. Officials said successive governments had failed to provide funds on regular basis to hospitals.