PMC stalls COVID-19 care at Dalvi Hospital

The civic body yet to construct oxygen tank needed to operationalise facility

At a time when Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is struggling hard to ramp up its facilities in the city to cater to the increasing number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, a facility run by it has failed to start as the operationalisation process is stuck in limbo.

While a 160-oxygenated bed facility can come up at Dalvi Hospital partially funded by Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai), PMC has failed to construct install an oxygen tank in the facility, leading to the delay. Officials, however, stated that they are expediting the process and will start it soon.


With the number of COVID-19 patients increasing, bed availability has been a problem for almost a month now. The administration is banking on the three jumbo facilities which are expected to come up by the end of August. However, the civic body’s own facilities are far from being utilised to the fullest of their capacity.

PMC had announced that they will be preparing civic body-run hospitals to use them as COVID care centres (CCCs). As a part of that move, with the funding from Credai, work had started to convert Dalvi Hospital in Shivajinagar. They had decided to start a full-fledged ICU and oxygen beds in the hospital with funding acquired from Credai.

Accordingly, Credai had donated ventilators and provided funds for other work as well. The intensive care unit (ICU) became functional with five ventilators in place in the last week. As a part of the requirement to start the oxygenated beds, a pipeline had to be laid and work for the tank where the oxygen cylinders could be kept had to begin.

With the civic body facing a funds crunch, Credai agreed to step up again and help to get the work done. It was decided that the part funding for the work will be done by Credai while PMC was expected to provide the remaining half. The pipeline work for oxygen supply that Credai was expected to do has been completed. From this pipeline, oxygen can be supplied to almost 69 beds which can become functional immediately. However, the facility has not been able to start because approvals required to construct the tank for supplying oxygen has not been processed yet.

The construction of the tank and connections to remaining pipelines had to be done via PMC funds. But the entire process has been stalled because the civic body has not decided whether to get the process done via tenders or to under the section 67 (3) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act through which the commissioner can use emergency powers.

IP Inamdar, treasurer of Credai, said “We had decided to fund the project partially in order to get the hospital functional. Accordingly, the ICU is in place. As far as the work for the oxygen beds is concerned, what we were expected to do is completed as well. Now it is for the PMC to complete the remaining part and get the work done to make the facility functional.”

Explaining the reason for delay, Shrinivas Kandul, head of electricity department, said, “We have decided to purchase jumbo liquid oxygen cylinder facilities in this centre. We had initially got a few emergency works done under section 67 (3) of the BPMC Act and had put up the bills for approval. However, the approval process for these bills is stalled at the standing committee level, citing various reasons. Hence the decision of whether to do the tendering process for this one or to get it done first has not been taken. But I will get it processed soon so that it becomes functional.”