The controversy over the playground at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), which has been converted into a paid parking lot, has taken a fresh twist.
Social activist Guddu Baba had earlier written a letter to the health department, seeking its intervention against the medical college's move of converting the playground meant for MBBS students into a parking lot. The hospital, after inviting tenders, had allowed a private agency to create the parking lot on the playground.
However, a fresh Right to Information (RTI) query by Guddu has revealed that the medical college had actually floated the parking lot tender for the vacant space behind Rajendra surgical building on the campus and not for the playground.
"The letter which I have received from the public information office of the medical college in my RTI reply clearly states that according to the tender, the land behind the Rajendra surgical building was meant to be given for parking facility," said Guddu. "The letter even states that the administration does not have information regarding running of a parking lot in the medical college playground. How can this be possible?"
There is a banner in Hindi put up on a gate opposite the hospital superintendent's office leading to the ground. Translated into English, it says: "Parking space in front of Hathwa ward for motorcycles, cycles, cars, ambulances. By order: Administration, PMCH and medical college."
The Telegraph had highlighted the controversy over the parking stand in an article published on February 13.
Quizzed about the RTI revelations, medical college principal S.N. Sinha passed the buck on to the hospital administration for floating the tender. "But I admit that the offices of the principal and the superintendent jointly decided to allow the private agency to create the parking lot on the playground," principal Sinha added.
"Tell me where the parking lot can be created. Vehicles of doctors of the hospital already occupy the vacant space behind Rajendra surgical building, where the private agency was supposed to create a parking lot. Doctors park their vehicles there free of cost. The private agency was allowed to create the parking lot in the playground instead because of space crunch in the area earmarked in the tender."
Hospital superintendent Lakhendra Prasad said the principal's office had allowed the private agency to create the parking lot.
"The hospital has no authority over the playgrounds. It is the medical college's property and whatever happens there is with due permission of the principal's office," said Prasad.
PMCH doctors, requesting anonymity held the health department's delay in executing its plan - of replacing existing buildings with high-rises according to the master plan formed by a Delhi-based company - responsible for the space crunch in the hospital.
"Had the master plan been executed, the hospital would have got adequate space to develop facilities like parking lots," a doctor said.
Guddu, who the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee will honour with an Unsung Hero award at its festival Cognizance 2017 on March 6 for environmental conservation initiatives, said the parking lot has come up against the Medical Council of India (MCI) norms. During inspection of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), the MCI had taken into account the presence of the playground facility and any tweak in that facility would give the MCI a right to deny permission to the college to run the MBBS course, he said
This is not the first time the Patna Medical College has come under the scanner for allowing commercial activities on the campus.
Earlier, Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor, who is also chairperson of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti of the hospital, had suspended a day's salary of both the hospital superintendent and the hospital manager after finding a car sale-cum-exhibition running on the hospital campus during inspection in July last year.
