New Delhi, January 21
Volatile Trinamool Congress leader and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has one more reason to be upset with the Congress.As ‘Didi’ prepares to present her second rail budget ahead of the crucial West Bengal elections, a major initiative announced by her last year to set up a chain of hospitals on the railway land has failed to take off. Reason: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his team have “shown little interest” in pursuing the project even as the Rail Ministry has earmarked the land for the hospitals.

In her budget speech last year, Mamata had announced among much fanfare that the Rail Ministry had joined hands with the Health Ministry to set up 522 hospitals and diagnostic centres at railway stations and nearby localities benefiting railway employees and their families in a big way. The minister had also said that the Railways had signed an MoU with the Health Ministry to set up these hospitals. The plan also included tie-ups with leading institutions like the CMC, Vellore and the AIIMS for 15-odd multi-speciality hospitals in her home state. It was also envisaged that the facilities would be open to the general public in rural areas since it would not be feasible to set up hospitals for a handful of the railway staff.

One year down the line, the MoU remains a mere piece of paper. Upset at the cavalier manner in which his leader’s pet project has been treated, Trinamool Congress leader and Minister of State for Health, Dinesh Trivedi, has written to Azad complaining that the Health Ministry had shown no urgency in the implementation of the plan.

The letter pointed out that though the idea of the MoU was first discussed last January, “there has been virtually no progress on it till this day.” Trivedi said despite formal approvals “we are only still talking about trying to set up pilot projects at just four locations and only for diagnostic centres and OPD facilities.” The plans for setting up 10-acre, 300-bedded hospitals and super-speciality hospitals, are also merely on paper, he said.

Trivedi said the Rail Ministry had acted alacrity and earmarked the land for these hospitals but “our ministry has shown minimal urgency” in this matter. Stating that there is “something amiss in our ministry,” Azad’s deputy said it had been decided to conduct stone-laying ceremonies at some venues but here again, the ministry was not proactive enough in pursuing the project.

Since the West Bengal elections are only a few months away, Trinamool Congress ministers are under pressure to showcase the various initiatives they have taken in their home state. It is particularly galling for them that that their supremo, Mamata, who is widely tipped to overthrow the well-entrenched Left Front government, failed to deliver on the promise she had made.

Already in election mode, the Rail Minister uses every opportunity to complain to the UPA leadership about issues concerning the common man. She has already complained about the recent fuel price hike and the Centre’s indifferent response to the worsening law and order situation in West Bengal.