The Indian Express 16.11.2013
BMC, SevenHills finally cut a deal, MoU on cards
After a delay of over four years, BMC is drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SevenHills Healthcare Pvt Ltd, engaged to run a multi-specialty hospital on a public-private partnership basis in Marol, Andheri (East). The MoU would be more stringent than the agreement signed with SHHPL previously, BMC officials said.
The multi-specialty hospital, inaugurated in 2009 on a 70,000-square metre BMC-owned leased plot, has been embroiled in a battle with the corporation in Bombay High Court since 2011. The BMC had asked Seven Hills to vacate its land in 2011, alleging that SHHPL has failed to abide by its agreement conditions, which include allotting 20 per cent of hospital beds for low-income groups, and selling medicines to these patients at municipal rates (20 per cent lower than market rates). The hospital, failing to reach an agreement with the corporation over the proportion of free medical services for low- income groups, took the matter to court.
The HC has now asked hospital representatives to meet the municipal commissioner and resolve differences amicably. "We have met SHHPL representatives regularly over the past few months and they have agreed to reserve 20 per cent of the beds for low-income groups, and to sell medicines to these patients at municipal rates which is 20 per cent lower than the market rates. Our legal department is working on the MoU. We have learned our lesson and will ensure that the private party does not waver from the agreed terms," said a senior official of the civic public-private-partnership promotion (PPPP) department.
After the MoU is signed, the BMC's building proposals (BP) department will issue the SevenHills group a full occupation certificate (OC) that will allow the hospital to use all its 1,500 beds. "At present, the hospital can legally use only 300 beds as the BP department withheld issuing a full OC till all terms and conditions of the agreement were followed," the official said.
