No delay in removing fire safety deficiencies at RML Hospital super specialty block: Delhi HC
New Delhi: Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital's under-construction super speciality block must be completed without any further delay, the Delhi High Court has said while directing the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to immediately remove fire safety deficiencies delaying the project's commissioning.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said the completion of the facility was in the larger public interest and stressed that deficiencies identified by the Delhi Fire Services must be removed without delay.
“It is needless to emphasise that construction of such a facility at the earliest will be in public interest and, therefore, no delay in completion of construction or removal of deficiencies... can be accepted,” the bench observed, reports TOI.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by civil rights organisation Social Jurist, which has sought directions to make the super speciality block operational at the earliest.
During the proceedings, the hospital informed the court that all statutory approvals required for the facility had been obtained except the fire safety certificate.
The direction followed the court's examination of the latest inspection reports submitted by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS). According to the DFS, the hospital's application for a fire safety certificate was rejected on March 9 after inspectors identified 20 deficiencies in the building.
The fire department informed the court that a second inspection conducted on July 4 found that none of the previously identified deficiencies had been rectified. Consequently, the application for fire clearance was again rejected on July 22.
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the long-awaited Super Speciality Block at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences (ABVIMS) and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital is set to become operational soon, with the facility awaiting only the final fire safety clearance before opening its doors to patients, officials said.
The fire department informed the court that a third inspection was conducted on August 1 and that a fresh report detailing the remaining deficiencies would be shared with the hospital authorities and the CPWD within three days.
Taking note of the delay, the High Court impleaded the CPWD's Chief Architect as a party to the proceedings and issued notice.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 7.
The PIL, filed through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh, seeks directions to make the nearly Rs 400-crore super speciality block fully operational at the earliest, arguing that despite substantial public investment.
Also Read:RML Hospital's New Super Speciality Block Set for Launch Soon
