Cuttack, Aug. 9: Orissa High Court has issued a direction to the state government, seeking details of the MoU and lease deeds of all private hospitals and nursing homes that had got land at subsidised rates in Bhubaneswar.

The court wanted to know under what conditions nearly 124 acres of prime government land in Bhubaneswar had been given away at highly subsidised rates for private hospitals and nursing homes.

The move followed an affidavit filed by the health department’s principal secretary Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.

The affidavit was filed yesterday in pursuance of a direction by the court to give details on implementation of a Supreme Court direction related to free treatment of the poor at private hospitals built on government land.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Odia Yuva Manch president Rohan Mohanty alleging violation of the Supreme Court guideline by private hospitals and nursing homes that had been built on government land.

According to the petition, the apex court, in September 2011, directed all private hospitals built on subsidised government land, to reserve 25 per cent of their outpatient department capacity and 10 per cent of beds inside for free treatment of the poor.

In his affidavit, Mohapatra said the health department had, on July 24, issued a notification making it mandatory for private hospitals allotted government land at subsidised rates to provide free treatment in 25 per cent of the cases in the outpatient department and 10 per cent in other departments.

The affidavit said 44 private hospitals and nursing homes had been provided with government land “at highly subsidised rates” in Bhubaneswar.

“Taking note of the affidavit, the division bench of Justice A.K. Rath and Justice B.R. Sarangi, yesterday directed the health department to submit details of the MoUs and lease deeds of all the 44 private hospitals and nursing homes,” petitioner counsel Kshirod Rout said today.

“The court will hear the case two weeks later and expects compliance of the direction by then,” Rout said.

According to the July 24 notification attached to the affidavit, nearly 124 acres of government land in Bhubaneswar were provided at subsidised rates to 44 private hospitals between 1981 and 2009.

Earlier, the state government had filed an affidavit stating that plots had been leased out in favour of 33 individuals or institutions in Bhubaneswar to set up private hospitals or nursing homes through execution of registered lease deeds. The government had submitted lease deeds in only three cases.

The PIL had alleged that “none of the private hospitals provided subsidised government land are providing free treatment to patients who are indigent and live below the poverty line and are also in distress”.