46 yrs after Srinagar, Jammu’s wait for Bone & Joint Hospital continues

Govt proposes to release paltry sum of 50 lakh for Rs 40 cr project

ARVIND SHARMA

JAMMU: Over 46 years have passed since Kashmir got Bone and Joint Hospital in 1972 but Jammu region has still been deprived of this facility despite the fact that a 240-bedded full-fledged hospital has been sanctioned by the Government of India (GoI) under Prime Minister's Development Package, (PMDP) costing over Rs 40 crore.
The foundation stone of the Bone and Joint Hospital, which is proposed to be constructed on the land adjacent to the Chest Diseases (CD) Hospital, Jammu, was laid by the former health minister in the month of April this year but since then not even a single brick has been laid for the hospital.
Official sources informed that due to poor “spending capacity” of the concerned Health and Medical Education Department, the government has now proposed to release a paltry amount Rs 50 lakh for initiating ground work of the project.
“The tenders have been approved but we have not received any fund requisition from the civil engineering wing of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) for starting ground work of the Bone and Joint Hospital,” joint director planning, ML Bhagat informed The News Now.
Sources said that although, there is no scarcity of funds, but it is only due to “poor spending capacity” of the concerned authorities that the funds are being withheld.
They said that if the funds are not utilized till March next year, they would get lapsed thus jeopardizing the project.
“We have released a sum of Rs 50 lakh and conveyed to the concerned authorities to start ground work for the hospital,” Bhagat confirmed to The News Now.
“Once these funds are utilized, remaining funds will also be released as per the requisition,” Bhagat said.
In this regard, Chief Engineer, Sudhir Shah, when contacted, said that there are still some obstacles for starting work of the much needed hospital at Jammu.
“The proposal is pending before the concerned committee in the civil secretariat and we are waiting for the formal orders,” Shah said adding, “Once the formal orders are issued, the ground work will be started”.
Sources said that except for normal surgeries, no major and complex bone surgery is performed at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H), Jammu, due to which the people of Jammu region are forced to go to either Srinagar or outside the state for availing specialized treatment.
In Bone and Joint Hospital, elective surgeries, knee, hip and other joint replacements, orthoscopy surgeries, etc can be performed which at present are not performed at Jammu.
It may be mentioned that a full-fledged Bone and Joint Hospital was established at Srinagar in 1972 but Jammu region has still been waiting for that facility.