*Now to be dedicated to public by March 2023
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Nov 20: The work on 300-bedded Bone & Joint Hospital Jammu which was to be dedicated to the public by August 2022, is still incomplete as the concerned contractor has slowed down the work seeking release of funds whereas the authorities concerned has now fixed the next deadline of the project as March 2023.
Official sources told Excelsior that foundation stone of the 300 Bone & Joint Hospital was laid on April 22, 2018 by the then Health Minister Bali Bhagat in the premises of Chest Diseases Hospital, Jammu and the construction work of the Hospital was kick-started on February 13, 2019 by Dr Sunanda Raina, the then Principal and Dean, Government Medical College, Jammu in presence of all heads of the departments, Medical Superintendents, Xen R&B and faculty members.
“The Hospital was sanctioned under PMDP and work was allotted to R&B Department for an approximate cost of Rs 40 crore,” sources said, adding, the four-storey Hospital was to be completed in two phases and the first phase was to be completed within a period of 24 months but due to restrictions imposed by the administration in view of outbreak of COVID-19, the construction work remain suspended for months in the year 2020 and as a result, the executing agency missed its first deadline of March 2021.
As per the sources, the second deadline for the completion of the project was fixed as March 2022 and it was decided to dedicate the Hospital to the public by August 2022 but even 2nd deadline was missed by the executing agency. Sources said that after March 2022, the concerned contractor stopped construction work seeking release of funds for the work done as due to non-revalidation of funds, authorities failed to clear the liability of around Rs 11 crore to the contractor.
Sources said the re-validation of funds is yet to be done by the Finance Department despite several pleas made by the GMC Jammu authorities but on the assurance of the authorities in Finance Department, the concerned contractor commenced the work in July this year. However, sources said, he has slowed down the pace of the work.
In total, sources revealed that about 90 percent work (whether it is civil, mechanical or electrical) of the Hospital has been completed and only 10 percent is left. Regarding manpower needed to run the Hospital, they said the proposal for creation of posts of all cadres for the Hospital has already been submitted to the Administrative Department but it is yet to be sanctioned.
Similarly, sources said, the process of tendering and ordering the requisite equipment and machinery needed to run the Hospital is underway as the experts from the Orthopaedics Department of GMC Jammu has given specifications of the required machinery and equipments to the J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited.
There will be no Emergency Unit in the 1st phase of the building of the Hospital, which is likely to be dedicated to the public by March 2023, sources said, adding, the Orthopaedics OPD will run side by side in GMC Jammu as well as in the Bone & Joint Hospital (1st phase).
They further disclosed that only elective surgeries will be done in Bone & Joint Hospital while all the major surgeries of Orthopaedics will be performed in GMC Jammu. “With the passage of time, the Department of Orthopaedics will be completely shifted to Bone & Joint Hospital from GMC Jammu but it will take years of time,” sources maintained.
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