The Central government has written to the Delhi government to give permission for cutting trees for a 100-bed hospital in Najafgarh, which has been pending with the latter.
The Hindu had reported on November 27 how the hospital project of the Union Health Ministry was stuck as permission for cutting trees has been pending with the Delhi Environment Minister’s office for almost two years.
The Additional Director General (ADG) of Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change wrote to the Delhi government on November 27 to “look into the matter” of permission for cutting trees. The ADG sent the letter in response to a letter by the Secretary of Union Ministry of Health on the subject.
“Forest clearance is essential for making the hospital functional. Officials have again recommended the cutting of trees to the Minister. The letter from the Centre is now pending before the Minister for approval,”a Delhi government official said.
In 2018, the officials concerned had recommended the cutting of trees and as per a status report of the Delhi government, the file for the project was submitted to the Environment Minister on December 18, 2018 and the Minister has neither rejected nor approved it since then.
In November, up to 55% of hospital beds for COVID-19 were occupied in Delhi and more than 90% of ICU beds were full. There were several complaints of people finding it difficult to find beds, forcing governments to start temporary hospitals.
In May 2018, the Union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had cleared the construction of the hospital and said that it will cater to 13.65 lakh people. The hospital was supposed to be operational by May 2020.
