Srinagar, Mar 25: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said that the Rehmat-e-Alam Hospital building in Sarnal, Anantnag, was declared unsafe for hospital use following a safety audit by IIT Jammu. The government has also ruled out conducting any fresh audit of the structure.
Responding to a starred question by Peerzada Mohammad Syed, MLA Anantnag, regarding the reasons for declaring the Rehmat-e-Alam Hospital building unsafe, the Minister-in-Charge of Health and Medical Education said in a written response, “The building was declared unsafe for hospital usage by IIT Jammu after conducting the safety audit.”
The government further said that the cost of strengthening measures or balancing work exceeds the cost of constructing a new facility, making it economically unfeasible.
“The proposed cost of strengthening measures surpasses the cost of building a new structure and, as such, is not economically viable. The estimated cost for a 100-bedded facility stands at approximately Rs 37 crore,” the government said.
To address healthcare needs in South Kashmir, the government has proposed the establishment of a new 249-bedded Mother and Child Care Hospital (M&CCH) with an estimated cost of Rs 86 crore. “The proposal has been cleared by the Building Screening Committee and is in the process of administrative approval (AA),” it said.
In response to whether a fresh safety audit would be conducted, the government categorically ruled it out. “The department upholds the views of the safety audit report submitted by the prestigious institution IIT Jammu and, as such, is not conducting any further safety audit,” it added.
