Shortage of funds stalls Civil Hospital work

Our Correspondent

Palampur, April 26

Resentment prevails among residents of Bhawarna town, 15 km from Palampur, over the delay in the completion of a 50-bed Civil Hospital, which is under construction for the past five years.

Due to the shortage of funds, the Public Works Department had left the project midway one-and-a-half years ago.

The construction of the health facility at Bhawarna was aimed at reducing the pressure on the Palampur Civil Hospital.

The work on the hospital building started during the BJP regime in 2018 when Sulah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar was Health Minister. The then CM Jai Ram Thakur had laid the foundation stone. A budgetary provision of Rs 8.32 crore was kept for the project. The Public Works Department was supposed to the complete the four-storey structure within two years.

Besides 50-bed hospital, there was a proposal to install an ultrasound scanning unit and a latest lab. The government had already sanctioned the posts of 10 doctors here and some of them have already joined.

Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that till date Rs 6.50 crore had been spent on the project. The PWD needs Rs 2 crore more to complete the work. With funds not coming for the past one year, contractor has slowed down the work.

Tanu Bharti, a local BJP leader, said, “The proposed hospital is meant to provide relief to the local populace, as the serious patients from Bhawarna have to travel 15-20 km to reach Palampur Civil Hospital in case of emergency. During the BJP regime, funds were sanctioned liberally, but the new Congress government put the project on hold.”

A senior officer of the PWD says the matter is pending with the higher authorities and it is expected that funds will be released soon.

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