Chandigarh: The proposed 50-bed hospital in Dhanas rehabilitation colony, planned for years to meet the growing healthcare needs of Chandigarh’s peripheral population, has hit another hurdle, with UT urban planning department finding that health department’s proposed facilities cannot be accommodated within the permissible floor area ratio (FAR) of the allotted site.The architect wing of urban planning department has now asked health department to rationalise its scope of work before the hospital plan can be taken forward.In a letter to the director, health and family welfare, the chief architect said the requirements projected by health department had been examined against the applicable planning parameters. “The requirements projected are towards the higher side and it is difficult to be accommodated within the permissible FAR. Therefore, the scope of work needs to be rationalised,” the letter stated.The department has sought a revised scope of work that can accommodate the essential requirements within the permissible FAR, enabling the architectural proposal to be prepared in accordance with the hospital’s functional needs.Site expanded to 0.9 acreThe hospital site itself has already undergone an expansion. Initially, 0.5 acre was earmarked for a dispensary. On health department’s request, the site was expanded to 0.9 acre by taking additional land from an adjoining pocket reserved for public facilities.The town planning wing has also finalised the zoning plan for the proposed health facility and sought transfer of the land from UT estate department to health department.The latest space-related hurdle, however, means the hospital proposal will have to be reworked before construction-related planning can progress.Political tussle over locationThe location of the facility had earlier become a point of political contention, with BJP and AAP councillors seeking the hospital in their respective wards in different parts of Dhanas. UT administration eventually settled on the rehabilitation colony as the site.Land had already been reserved there for a healthcare centre for residents of the colony, but the proposed 50-bed hospital is envisaged as a substantially larger facility.Peripheral colonies drive demandThe project comes against the backdrop of a sharp rise in population in Chandigarh’s peripheral areas, driven by the expansion of large rehabilitation colonies as well as growth in villages.The hospital is expected to serve residents of Dhanas, Dadumajra, Sarangpur and adjoining areas, besides reducing dependence on larger hospitals in the city, including Govt Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16.The proposed facility is to have OPD and inpatient services, along with an in-house laboratory and diagnostic facilities so that essential tests can be conducted on site. Departments proposed include general medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics and orthopaedics.
