The long-awaited construction of a new Civil Hospital in Hisar has hit another hurdle, with the project now awaiting transfer of land to the Health Department despite the site having been finalised after nearly two years of deliberations.
Department sources said around 22 acres belonging to the Government Livestock Farm (GLF), opposite the airport on the Delhi Bypass, had been earmarked for the project. However, ownership of the land was yet to be transferred to the department, said an official.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Sapna Gahlaut said the district administration had submitted the proposal for transfer of land to the state authorities. “Once the land is transferred, the design and tendering process will begin before construction of the new hospital starts,” she said.
The existing Civil Hospital, built in 1957, is struggling to cope with the growing patient load. Expansion or vertical construction is not possible as the hospital falls near the ASI-protected Hisar Fort, built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1354. Under the ASI Act, construction is prohibited within a 100-metre radius of the monument.
Social activist Dr Ramesh Punia said Hisar had become a major healthcare hub, with over 50 private hospitals serving nearly 25,000 OPD patients daily from Hisar, neighbouring districts, Rajasthan and Punjab.
“Not everybody, especially those visiting from rural areas, can afford treatment in private hospitals. There has already been a delay of several years in setting up a new hospital building. The government spent Rs 7 crore on the repair and maintenance of the old Civil Hospital building earlier this year. About Rs 20 crore has been spent over the past 10 years on construction and maintenance works, but all in vain. Until the capacity of this hospital is increased and a super-speciality hospital and trauma centre are established, patients will continue to suffer and bear the high cost of treatment in private hospitals,” he said.
