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Indus Hospital Foundation accuses KP govt of deceiving it
PESHAWAR: The Indus Hospital Foundation has expressed concerns over what it calls the arbitrary cancellation of an agreement by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government under which the former had been allotted a 100-kanal piece of land for construction of a charity hospital.
“We still own the land allotted to us for building a free hospital. The provincial government has deceived us because it cancelled the contract arbitrarily,” Dr Abdul Bari Khan, chief executive officer of the foundation, told Dawn.
In early 2013, PTI chairman Imran Khan visited Indus Hospital in Karachi and when his party came into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he invited Dr Bari to build a free hospital for the local people. After deliberations with the provincial government, the foundation was allotted 100-kanal land in Peshawar in November 2016.
However, the agreement was cancelled towards the end of 2017 by the government, citing slow-paced progress on the construction and showing concerns that NAB could make a reference against the government for allotment of the land. The land had originally been allotted for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical College, announced by late prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990. The college couldn’t see light of the day despite the fact that PPP came into power thrice.
The PTI government thought that the land had been lying unused despite heavy payment due to which the health department signed an agreement with the foundation for construction of 200-bed hospital in three years that could later be expanded to 500 beds in the next five years.
“On August 30, 2017, we held a meeting with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Health Minister Sharam Tarakai wherein it was agreed that the land would be allotted through public-private partnership law through a competitive process in which other bidders would also take part,” said Dr Bari.
He said that the government had pointed out that under proper legal procedure it would enable them to stay safe from NAB’s objection and the foundation could secure the piece of land through a legal procedure for which advertisement would be floated within a month and the process would be completed by September 2017.
“We have been waiting for the advertisement to appear but surprisingly we came to know through media that the land had been allotted back to ZABMC. We have already started collecting donations for the hospital,” said Dr Bari.
He said that President Mamoon Hussain donated initial amount of Rs5 million. “So far, we have spent Rs6 million on boundary wall. The government also allowed animal market on the site which slowed down the process,” he said.
Dr Bari said that work by NHA and Bus Rapid Transit project also led to halt progress on the scheme. “Under the agreement, we must start construction within three years but ending the contract is the worst example of deception and arbitrariness,” he said.
Dr Bari said that they ran Indus Hospital on behalf of Sindh government. He said that they were setting up three more hospitals in Sindh. “In Punjab, we run seven hospitals. For Peshawar, we have prepared the master plan because I belong to Peshawar and want to serve our people as well,” he said.
He said that they had not received any notice of cancellation of the agreement by the government. “It is breach of agreement by government,” he alleged.
Dr Bari said that last week, he met Health Minister Shahram Tarakai, who said that they were waiting for them to build the hospital. “He assured me of cooperation. Legally, the foundation owns the land,” he added.
The provincial health minister didn’t respond phone calls and SMS of this scribe to give his version on the issue.
Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2018
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1397576
PESHAWAR: The Indus Hospital Foundation has expressed concerns over what it calls the arbitrary cancellation of an agreement by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government under which the former had been allotted a 100-kanal piece of land for construction of a charity hospital.
“We still own the land allotted to us for building a free hospital. The provincial government has deceived us because it cancelled the contract arbitrarily,” Dr Abdul Bari Khan, chief executive officer of the foundation, told Dawn.
In early 2013, PTI chairman Imran Khan visited Indus Hospital in Karachi and when his party came into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he invited Dr Bari to build a free hospital for the local people. After deliberations with the provincial government, the foundation was allotted 100-kanal land in Peshawar in November 2016.
However, the agreement was cancelled towards the end of 2017 by the government, citing slow-paced progress on the construction and showing concerns that NAB could make a reference against the government for allotment of the land. The land had originally been allotted for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical College, announced by late prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990. The college couldn’t see light of the day despite the fact that PPP came into power thrice.
The PTI government thought that the land had been lying unused despite heavy payment due to which the health department signed an agreement with the foundation for construction of 200-bed hospital in three years that could later be expanded to 500 beds in the next five years.
“On August 30, 2017, we held a meeting with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Health Minister Sharam Tarakai wherein it was agreed that the land would be allotted through public-private partnership law through a competitive process in which other bidders would also take part,” said Dr Bari.
He said that the government had pointed out that under proper legal procedure it would enable them to stay safe from NAB’s objection and the foundation could secure the piece of land through a legal procedure for which advertisement would be floated within a month and the process would be completed by September 2017.
“We have been waiting for the advertisement to appear but surprisingly we came to know through media that the land had been allotted back to ZABMC. We have already started collecting donations for the hospital,” said Dr Bari.
He said that President Mamoon Hussain donated initial amount of Rs5 million. “So far, we have spent Rs6 million on boundary wall. The government also allowed animal market on the site which slowed down the process,” he said.
Dr Bari said that work by NHA and Bus Rapid Transit project also led to halt progress on the scheme. “Under the agreement, we must start construction within three years but ending the contract is the worst example of deception and arbitrariness,” he said.
Dr Bari said that they ran Indus Hospital on behalf of Sindh government. He said that they were setting up three more hospitals in Sindh. “In Punjab, we run seven hospitals. For Peshawar, we have prepared the master plan because I belong to Peshawar and want to serve our people as well,” he said.
He said that they had not received any notice of cancellation of the agreement by the government. “It is breach of agreement by government,” he alleged.
Dr Bari said that last week, he met Health Minister Shahram Tarakai, who said that they were waiting for them to build the hospital. “He assured me of cooperation. Legally, the foundation owns the land,” he added.
The provincial health minister didn’t respond phone calls and SMS of this scribe to give his version on the issue.
Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2018
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1397576
