Catastrophe at Seven hills, BMC seals admin office over unpaid tax of Rs 9 crores

Mumbai: The stars haven't quite favoured Seven hills over the past few years as the hospital has been facing several woes. The hospital, running through a massive financial crunch has not been able to function as most of the employees as well as the suppliers have refused to work at the organisation on account of lack of payments. Adding to its misery, now the  Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken stringent action against the hospital over non-payment of Rs 9 crore property tax.

Thursday morning took a major turn when officials from the BMC's assessment and collection department sealed the hospital's administrative office situated on the ground floor. Devidas Kshirsagar, assistant municipal commissioner (assessment and collection department), told TOI that the hospital owes a total of Rs 39 crore in property tax to the BMC, of which Rs 9 crore was the undisputed amount.

"Therefore, last month itself we informed the hospital authorities to clear the unchallenged amount by February 28. The remaining amount is under dispute and we were following the due process of law by directing them to clear the undisputed amount for now. However, the same was not paid to the BMC within the deadline given to them," he said.

With the dues not received the BMC decided to take the next step of action by sealing the premises.

"After taking a sanction from the higher authorities on March 1, our officials sealed their premises," added Kshirsagar.

"Now the hospital has to pay up the money, and we will unseal their administrative office. They had the deadline of February end, and since they didn't pay, Sanjay Mukherjee directed this action." , he told HT.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the prestigious 1500 bedded hospital in Mumbai, Seven Hills Hospital is facing a major financial crunch forcing it to recently shut down its outpatient department services to save expenses. Moreover, the hospital has also not been able to pay its employees including employed and consultant doctors for the last six months, which have forced the doctors to refrain from coming to duties.

Read Also: Seven Hills Hospital Crisis: OPD shuts down, doctors unpaid for 6 months

"We are waiting for the judgment of the Hyderabad-based National Company Law Tribunal that is hearing the insolvency plea led by Axis Bank. A lot of doctors have chosen to wait in the hope that once a new management takes over, the dues will be cleared and the hospital would run to its capacity," a doctor told TOI adding that patients seeking services under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Scheme continue to be treated. Besides the doctors, the staffers and vendors supplying devices to the hospitals have not got their dues.

It has also been reported by the daily that the civic body has ordered the Andheri based hospital to discharge the patients once they get better.