After a five-year struggle by Vikhroli residents, the redevelopment of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital, which has been closed since 2018, has finally been approved. The hospital, which was previously two floors high, will now be a fully equipped 13-story building.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started the tender process for this purpose. BMC expects to build the new hospital by 2028, so Vikhroli residents have no choice but to wait.
The building was closed down in phases in 2018 due to safety concerns. As a result, residents of the area have to travel to hospitals like Sion, KEM, Nair, and Rajawadi for treatment. This has led to a situation where the availing treatment is more troublesome than the disease.
Amhi Vikhrolikar, a residents group held protests from time to time for the redevelopment, and social worker Milind Parab went on a hunger strike. The collective struggle of all of them has finally been successful.
After the hospital was closed, only OPD services were available in a container. The closure of the hospital deprived people of healthcare. BMC has failed to provide alternative healthcare services at the site after the hospital was closed. However, now that the redevelopment project is approved, there is new hope for residents.
The new hospital will have a ground floor, basement plus a 13-storey building, a 21-storey residential building for doctors and nurses, and a 500-bed fully equipped hospital. The expected cost of the redevelopment project is 500 crores.
Redevelopment stalled
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had directed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to provide the land adjacent to the hospital to the BMC free of cost for redevelopment. However, MHADA had asked the BMC to make a payment of ₹13 crores while giving the offer letter for the land, but the BMC refused to pay. As a result, the redevelopment was stalled due to the dispute between MHADA and the corporation.