Pune: Despite the groundbreaking ceremony of the Warje Multispecialty Hospital being conducted by the then Chief Minister before the Lok Sabha elections, not a single brick has been laid for the project. The hospital, planned under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, faces scrutiny as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has allegedly withheld crucial documents. Key agreements, development plans, and records regarding the security deposit collected as per the contract are not being disclosed. This lack of transparency has raised serious doubts about the project’s progress.
The hospital was supposed to be completed within three years, but with significant delays already, questions are being raised about whether the project will ever be completed on time. Concerned citizens, led by the Sajag Nagrik Manch, have demanded that all related documents be made publicly available.
The hospital project was expected to receive financial assistance from a Dutch finance company, with provisions for loan insurance. The company had assured complete loan guarantees, ensuring that the PMC would not have to bear any financial burden. During the Bhoomi Pujan, then Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had stated that this would be the first hospital in India operating under such a financial model, with potential for replication if successful.
The planned hospital is set to have 375 beds, of which 10% were to be provided free of cost to the PMC, and 6% of the beds reserved for treatment at CGHS rates. The remaining beds would be commercially operated by the contracted company at affordable rates. Sajag Nagrik Manch activist Vivek Velankar had filed a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking project details, but the PMC’s health department has reportedly failed to provide any substantial information.
As per the information provided, when requested access to project-related files on February 3 and 17. However, despite over a month passing, the files have not been made available, raising suspicions of deliberate concealment.
Multiple red flags were pointed out, including:
As per the contract, the contractor was supposed to submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) within 120 days. Since the contract was signed in August 2023, the DPR should have been submitted by December 2023, but the PMC has failed to produce it.
The contractor was required to provide a bank guarantee of 5% of the contract amount within 180 days, but no records confirm that this has been received.
A monitoring committee was supposed to be established by the PMC to oversee the project, but the health department has not provided any evidence that such a committee exists.
Although the contract stated that the hospital construction should be completed within three years, 18 months have already passed with no progress.
Despite the grand Bhoomi Pujan by the Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers before the Lok Sabha elections, the Warje Multispecialty Hospital project remains stuck in limbo.
