BMC receives MHADA nod to revamp Vikhroli hospital

Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital at Kannamwar Nagar in Vikhroli East in 2022. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally received a no-objection certificate from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for the redevelopment of Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital at Kannamwar Nagar in Vikhroli East. The civic body will soon invite a tender for the construction of the 500-bed super-speciality hospital. The construction of the building will take three years.

Dr Vidya Thakur, chief medical superintendent of peripheral hospitals, BMC, confirmed the development and said, "We are in the process of getting permissions from the environment ministry and aviation authorities." MHADA gave its nod on June 20 after the BMC paid it Rs 13.23 crore for the use of land and other fees. The civic body shut down the 100-bed hospital in 2018 after the building had been declared dilapidated. The hospital was shifted to a maternity home in Tagore Nagar, but locals allege it wasn't operating at full capacity and as a result, they were forced to rely on Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar.

A group of Kannamwar Nagar residents, under the banner of ‘Amhi Vikhrolikar', held a hunger strike in September 2022 to highlight the lack of a hospital in their vicinity. At the time, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered the BMC to settle the dispute over the land for the hospital with MHADA and start construction of the facility immediately. Initially, a 100-bed hospital was to be built at the site. But the BMC later decided to set up a 500-bed super-speciality hospital instead. mid-day, has continually reported about the delay in the construction of the new hospital building.

According to an official, the new hospital will have cardiology, gastroenterology and other super-speciality departments, apart from offering regular medical services. "Construction of the building will take three years," the official said. According to the data, nearly 8-9 lakh people in Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg and Bhandup depend on the Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital.

2018
Year hospital was shut