The Chennai Corporation will set up a leprosy hospital in a portion of a 33-acre piece of land in Madambakkam, near Tambaram. The Chennai Corporation Council on Wednesday passed a resolution to request the government for construction of the hospital and appoint employees for the hospital. The 10-bed hospital will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 2 crore.
The employees for the hospital, including medical officers, will be recruited through the Employment Office. Some employees will also be hired on a contract basis.
The civic body, a few years ago, proposed to construct a 600-bed hospital on the land in Madambakkam. The facility was earlier planned with 200 beds for communicable diseases, a hospital for women and children and a general hospital. The civic body also planned to set up a medical college on the land. The earlier project, estimated to cost between Rs. 25 and 30 crore.
A philanthropist, R.M. Alagappa Chettiar, had donated the land to the Corporation in 1946 on the condition that only a hospital should be built on it.