In spite of the 30-year lease of Mahavir Hospital and Research Centre expiring six years back, the government has not renewed it till date. The Hyderabad district collectorate is now inquiring whether the hospital violated any of the lease conditions since 1975. The inquiry covers aspects like whether the hospital is providing treatment at subsidised rates to the poor, the number of beds allocated for them and how many departments in the hospital have been outsourced.
The hospital management had applied for renewal of the lease way back in 2006. Some city MLAs had demanded that the government, before taking a decision on the lease, should look into the service being provided by the hospital to the poor. An MIM MLA had raised the issue at the District Review Meeting (DRC) stating that the hospital trust had been given over three acres of land at a throwaway price of Rs 12 for 30 years, and yet the poor were not being given subsidies even in consultation fees, etc.
Mahavir Hospital superintendent Dr S. Avulappa refuted allegations of the hospital not serving the poor. “One complete ward has been earmarked for poor patients. It is a 228-bed hospital and over 40 beds are reserved for poor,” he said. When contacted, Hyderabad district collector Syed Ali Murtuza Rizvi said it was up to the state government to take a decision on Mahavir Hospital’s lease agreement.