Move to provide relief to around 40k Aarey residents
The Aarey Hospital, which caters mostly to tribals, has been in ruins for years. File pic
Aarey Milk Colony officials have shortlisted Kurla’s Aryan Medical and Educational Trust to revive Aarey Hospital, which has been nearly dysfunctional for over a decade. Details of the plan have been forwarded to the state dairy development department, and the approval is expected to arrive by next week.
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Maharashtra’s dairy development department had called for an expression of interest in the matter in October. “We received eight names. Out of them, the selected trust fulfilled all the requirements and had the most experience in the medical field (17 years),” said Balasaheb Wakchaure, chief executive officer of Aarey Milk Colony.
The seven trusts that expressed interest in running the hospital included Kolkata-based Aatmaram Geetadevi Kejriwal Seva Trust, Agarwal Janseva Charitable Trust, Mahatma Phule Charitable Trust, Sai Leela Foundation Trust, Sapna Subodh Savji Charitable trust, SL Charitable Trust, and Roshan Life Foundation.
“We have decided on the rates and the criteria, and have followed due process. The state government will now take the decision forward,” Wakchaure said. In earlier reports, residents expressed concerns about privatisation, as instead of being operated completely by public authorities, the hospital would fall into the hands of a charitable trust.
Plans to transfer the hospital to the BMC were in the pipeline until recently; however, there were disagreements on several issues (like repair works, additional land, etc.) between the civic body and the dairy development department officials. mid-day was informed in October that the expression of interest was called for from other parties even as the talks between the two authorities were still ongoing.
At the same time, the move is also a relief to 40,000 people of Aarey colony, including around 8,000 tribal residents in 27 hamlets, as there is a severe shortage of medical facilities in the area and the hospital is presently in a dilapidated condition.
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