No action taken by the administration to retrieve the land of Raja Sukhdev Singh Hospital from encroachers; Flourishing private business inside hospital premises
POONCH TODAY NEWS
POONCH: Raja Sukhdev Singh Hospital Poonch has always remained in the news, for one or another reason. On the one hand, no efforts were made to construct a boundary wall to discourage private business activities inside the hospital premises, and on the other hand, the poor response of the district administration in retrieving encroached land raises eyebrows about the intentions of those sitting at the helm of affairs in the system.
Eleven months ago, a nine-member revenue commission constituted by Tehsildar Haveli visited the premises of Raja Sukhdev Singh and conducted an investigation into the matter, but what happened afterwards is still a mystery. People time and again demeaned the demarcation of the hospital, but it seems that a big nexus that remained operational for years never allowed the concerned to retrieve the land, in addition to constructing a boundary wall to discourage private business that was operating within the premises of the hospital and belonged to an ex-medical officer. Moreover, a huge chunk of land is still under illegal occupation, which needs to be retrieved to allow the government to strengthen health care facilities in the hospital by installing additional infrastructure catering to the needs of various patients. Some renowned citizens of Poonch, while sharing their views with “POONCH TODAY,” said that Raja Sukhdev Singh gave more than 60 kanals of land to the hospital, but a few revenue officials are saying that the land was nearly 52 kanals and 5 marlas. It’s the duty of the government to present a true picture in the public domain. But as far as removing encroachments is concerned, the government has yet to start an exercise to solve this issue once and for all, and there are reports that those who are involved in encroachment on hospital land have been trying various things to throw the matter behind closed doors by approaching those at the helm of affairs. The credibility of the Poonch administration remained weak as far as taking action against illegal encroachers, and the poor response of the administration in the case of hospital land encroachment is really questionable. Those who once ruled the hospital affairs are so strong that nobody is ready to discourage their business, which is operating inside the premises of the hospital openly. Raja Sukhdev Singh Hospital is the premier health institution of the district, and if the government fails to retrieve encroached land, then it will raise the morale of encroachers in addition to decreasing faith among the people in the institution of governance. A high-level inquiry is needed from the LGs administration to inquire why successive administrations have failed to retrieve the encroached land back in addition to building a boundary wall from all angles, thereby discouraging private medical practitioners from practicing inside the hospital premises.