DDA to auction hospital plots

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI, JUNE 25. In a significant decision of far reaching consequences, the Delhi Development Authority has decided to go for ``auctioning of hospital plots'' and do away with the existing practise of allotting them at institutional or concessional rates.

The DDA will, however, continue to allot plots to civic bodies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi at a nominal Rs. 1 and to the Delhi and Union Government at the lower rates, which will continue to serve the poor.

Wiser from the experiences in the past wherein the so called ``charitable-private hospital'' never fulfilled its commitment to treat certain number of poor patients free and the strong belief that this was the age of super-speciality hospitals requiring heavy investment, the DDA, at a high-level meeting headed by the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Vijai Kapoor, decided last week to opt for a new policy for the disposal of hospital plots.

``We are now doing away with the practise of giving hospital lands to charitable institutions or to the private parties in the name of charity. Let charity be the job of the local civic bodies and the Government alone, while for the others it will now be a purely professional approach,'' said officials closely associated with formulating this new policy.

Insiders in the DDA said from now onwards bids would be invited from private parties for the plots earmarked for hospitals. ``Biding would be in two stages. In the first stage the parties would be asked to submit a site-specific project report. This would then be screened by a high level committee of technical experts,'' sources said.

As per the decision, those bidders having prior expertise in the field and having the capacity to invest at least 25 per cent of the project cost from its own resources would qualify for the next stage in the bidding process. ``The rest 75 per cent can be raised from the market,'' officials said.

``In the second stage, financial bids of only shortlisted ones would be opened who are found to be suitable to meet the need of the area. It is only then, that the party giving maximum revenue to us would be handed over the hospital plot,'' they said.

Though the DDA has initially identified as many as 10 such plots in the Capital, it is likely to start the allotment process under the new policy with the two hospital plots in Dwarka, in South- West Delhi.

According to officials, it was found that the earlier policy was not serving its purpose. While it became very difficult to monitor their promise of treating poor patients, often their ownership changed hands. ``In fact most of them are now running commercially. Ours is a development agency not a monitoring body. So the decision,'' sources said.

It was also argued that in the age of super specialities the health sector required massive investment and this could no more be performed by charitable institutions. According to officials, serious thinking was going for quite some time now specially after the death of the former Union Power Minister, Mr. P. R. Kumaramangalam, last year.

Sources said that in fact no land for hospital was allotted for over a year now. ``But now we will soon expedite the process and hope that the Capital in near future will have several super speciality world-class hospitals,'' they said.

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