Nagpur Nagarik Sahkari Rugnalaya got a whiplash from Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) as it has cancelled the lease of its sprawling land on North Ambazari road.Besides, NIT has ordered the administrator to demolish the hospital building which is in quite bad condition. As per information, the hospital was dysfunctional since last one decade or so.
The hearing was conducted on December 24 regarding this matter and passed order on January 7 to cancel the lease of Nagarik Rugnalaya.
The administrator has been asked to remove the structure within next 30 days.And for this demolishing of the buildings and the cost will be recovered from the Rugnalaya administration.
Earlier, NIT had allotted 5,482 sq meter land on North Ambazari road to establish a hospital in 1970s on lease for 30 years. The lease contained a clause that if the Rugnalaya was unable to run the hospital, then the land would be reverted to NIT. Due to several factors, the hospital could not function and it was decided to hand it over to a private player.
In 2007, the Rugnalaya management signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with M/s Quality Care Health group, but it fizzled out. In 2010, the expression of interest was invited and Dr Arneja Institute of Cardiology was selected to develop a modern hospital.
Dr Bhalchandra Subhedar, the senior most physician of the city had filed a PIL before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, questioning the Development Agreement entered into between Nagpur Nagrik Rugnalaya and Dr Arneja.
The High Court had quashed and set aside the agreement and later the Supreme Court also dismissed the SLP filed by Dr Arneja. Since then, the hospital building was in ruins. On December 17, 2019 a division bench consisting of Justice Sunil Shukre and Justice Rohit Deo directed NIT to complete the inquiry into cancellation of allotment in favour of Rugnalaya within a period of two months.
