Sadar hosp work way behind schedule

Ranchi: A day after the Jharkhand high court took strong objection to the unfinished work at the Ranchi district hospital and directed the implementing agency to complete the work at the earliest, a visit to the hospital revealed that 15 different kinds of work that were supposed to be completed by June 30 were either still incomplete or progressing at a very slow pace.
The construction agency, Vijeta Projects and Infrastructure Limited, engaged in the construction and installation of services at the hospital told the court on Thursday that 84% work has been completed and it will be completing the rest of the work soon.
However, if the progress report submitted by the district administration is to be believed, a copy of which is with TOI, the claims of the contractor seem to be false as there hasn’t been any progress or very slow progress on 15 kinds of works and services that were supposed to be completed by June 30, 2021.
The works and services include water supply provisions to the eight-storey building, sewer system, electrical wiring and fittings as well as external electrical work, fire detection system, construction of hospital kitchen and modular operation theatres, among others.
Jyoti Sharma, who has filed a contempt petition at the Jharkhand high court after the contractor failed to honour three deadlines, said: “The court asked the contractor as well as the state when they would be able to complete the work. The next hearing is on July 15 and I do not think that they will be able to complete what they have said in the last hearing.”
The claim of 84% work being completed by the contractor seems false as health department officials said the agency has been dumping the materials but aren’t finishing the work. Also, oxygen supply to beds and electrical power backup have not been completed.
Waterlogged roads and open drains are a common sight at the district hospital. Ambulances ferrying patients, too, have to cross the waterlogged passage to reach the emergency ward.
Ranchi civil surgeon Dr Vinod Kumar said: “I have visited all the floors after the hearing on Thursday and I do not think that the contractor will be able to complete the work in even the next six months. They claim to have completed 84% of the work but I do not think it is more than 70%. “
Notably, the construction of the 500-bed super-speciality project started in 2007 and it is yet to be completed with the original budget inflating from Rs 127 crore to almost Rs 350 crore now. “I had joined as a medical officer in 2007 when this building’s construction had started. I have been promoted at least thrice since then but the project is yet to be completed,” a senior health department official said.
When contacted, an engineer associated with the project said: “The major bottle-neck is the non-payment to the smaller vendors that are working on the ground. Vijeta Construction has been defaulting on their payments and that is the reason the work is getting delayed. We have mentioned all these in our report to the high court.”