No district hospital in Anand: Gujarat HC directs officials to submit steps taken

Ahmedabad: Expressing dismay over the absence of a civil hospital in Gujarat's Anand district despite the land being allotted years ago, the Gujarat High Court directed the secretaries of Gujarat health, urban housing and urban development departments to explain the steps and the time by which they would complete setting up the hospital. 

The court comprising Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice AJ Shastri issued the orders while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed through advocate Vicky Mehta, which alleged that the civil hospital had not been established even though the land was already allotted for the hospital in 2016. 

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The PIL further stated that the district was formed in 1997, and the district collector had allotted land to construct a hospital. However, the district does not have a hospital despite being 25 years since it was established, observed the petition. 

The counsel for the government observed that the land allotted for the civil hospital is in a civil dispute and they are in the process of identifying new land. 

The court expressed unhappiness at the lack of a public health facility in the district due to the inaction of the officials and at the latter's delay in responding to the court's notice for three months. The court directed the concerned secretaries to submit the affidavit about steps taken to build a civil hospital in Anand. 

The authorities were asked to state on oath the steps they are taking to set up a government hospital on rented premises untill the work of the original one is completed. The court further observed that the setting up of the hospital is important for the well-being of the poor, particularly for women in labor pain, so that people could travel to nearby districts of Ahmedabad and Kheda for treatment, reports the Times of India.  

The bench said, "There is no district hospital at all. Even after 25 years, you are still searching for land. Tell your chief secretary to remain present." 

The matter is next scheduled for hearing on February 2, 2023, and by then, the secretaries have been asked to file affidavits and remain present in court. 

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