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Mumbai Emergency Room: Plan to convert Mazgaon maternity home to cancer hospital gathers dust

The hospital would have been the BMC’s first initiative for a cancer specialty hospital on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis with cost of treatment on par with that at the Tata Memorial Center in Parel, which provides treatment at highly subsidised rates.

BMC, Mazgaon maternity home, cancer hospital, mumbai cancer hospital, mumbai maternity hospitals, CanCare Trust, indian express

The dilapidated Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Hospital in Mazgaon was shut down mid-2014. Express photo

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) initiative to build an affordable cancer specialty hospital in Mazgaon is facing a delay even though the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Maternity Home, on whose plot the hospital is proposed, has been shut for two years to pave way for constructing the hospital.

The hospital would have been the BMC’s first initiative for a cancer specialty hospital on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis with cost of treatment on par with that at the Tata Memorial Center in Parel, which provides treatment at highly subsidised rates.

After the bidding process was completed, the project was handed over to CanCare Trust in early 2014. However, even after two years, the trust has not started construction work. The founder of CanCare Trust Dr Sultan Pradhan said the delay was on account of the time taken to obtain permissions.

Dr Padmaja Keskar, Executive Health Officer of the BMC, said, “The construction of the hospital has not yet started. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with CanCare Trust already, but it is stuck in the registration process. As soon as they provide us with the documents, the BMC will hand over the plot to them.”

Another senior official in the BMC said CanCare has applied to the state government to waive stamp duty charges, one of the reasons for the delay.

Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Maternity home was shut down in the middle of 2014 to facilitate the cancer hospital’s development. The maternity home was the only such civic-run facility in Mazgaon. The closest public maternity health facility is now J J Hospital in Byculla.

Local Shiv Sena corporator Yamini Jadhav said that she appreciated the move to build a cancer hospital as it will help the people in the area but at the same time pointed out the need for a maternity home in Mazgaon.

“I have been following up on the issue but there has been no development on the plot. The local people here want a maternity home as it served the basic needs of a lot of pregnant women. Now after the Hancock Bridge was closed, it takes time to reach Byculla. In case of an emergency, travelling all the way is dangerous,” she said.

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First uploaded on: 21-04-2016 at 02:09 IST

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