Bhopal, July 7 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla on Tuesday said the proposed government hospital at Khajrana in Indore could not be constructed because the Health Department failed to get possession of the allotted land due to encroachment, rejecting allegations of corruption in the project.

The proposed hospital has recently come under the spotlight after questions were raised about staff recruitment despite the hospital building not yet being constructed, prompting the Opposition to term it a ‘ghost hospital’.

Presenting the government’s stand, Shukla told IANS that the delay was due to a land dispute, not any irregularity in the project. He said the land allotted for the hospital was under encroachment, and the Health Department could not take possession of it. As soon as possession is secured, the tender process will be initiated, and the hospital building will be constructed.

Shukla said the hospital posts had already been sanctioned before the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the government recruited 35 paramedical staff members to meet the acute shortage of healthcare personnel across the state.

He said as the hospital building was not ready, these employees were deputed to other rural and urban health centres in Indore.

He added that neither furniture nor medical equipment has been purchased for the proposed hospital, so there is no question of any corruption in the project.

Shukla further stated that the state government had utilised the recruited manpower in existing health institutions rather than keeping them idle, given the emergency situation during the pandemic.

He maintained that the project would move forward once the encroached land is handed over to the Health Department. He reiterated that the government would immediately begin the tender process for construction after taking possession of the site.

The deputy chief minister’s clarification comes amid political criticism over the stalled project, with the Opposition Congress alleging irregularities in appointments linked to the proposed hospital.

–IANS

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