Observing that the condition of Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital, attached to Moti Lal Nehru Medical College in Prayagraj, has deteriorated not due to a lack of funds or amenities but because of private practice by its doctors, the Allahabad high court has directed that the matter be placed before the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary.
The court asked the chief secretary to take appropriate action against those found responsible and to set up a high-level inquiry into doctors allegedly engaged in private practice at the college.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal observed, “It appears that the condition of the Moti Lal Nehru Medical College and the attached hospital Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital has deteriorated not because there is a shortage of funds or the amenities by the government but it is the medical fraternity who is failing the object of the government. The professors, associate professors and lecturers are practicing in private nursing homes and are running a parallel medical industry in the city of Prayagraj. These doctors are performing surgery and keeping the patients in private set up, who are transferred from the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital”.
Fixing May 26 as the next date of hearing, the court directed that by then, the chief secretary must inform it about the action taken, including the setting up of a high-level inquiry into the functioning of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College and its attached hospital.
The court also directed the chief secretary to monitor the progress of various construction works underway at SRN Hospital for nearly 20 years, which remain incomplete despite funds having been released by the state government.
During the hearing on May 4, Dr Vinod Kumar Pandey, principal of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj, appeared before the court and filed an affidavit in compliance with an earlier order. An affidavit on behalf of the special secretary, medical education, was also submitted and taken on record.
The state counsel informed the court that no-objection certificates (NOCs) have been obtained from all departments concerned for the transfer of 31,314 square metres of land in favour of the medical college, and the proposal will soon be placed before the council of ministers for approval. Once cleared, the land will be transferred to the college.
The court also pulled up the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam for failing to complete construction of two floors of the cardiology department at Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, work on which began in 2006.
