The Haryana government has appointed the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) as the executing agency for the proposed Civil Hospital in Gurgaon, replacing the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). The CPWD had previously been handling the planning and design work for the long-delayed 600-bed facility.
Health Minister Announces New Executing Agency
On Thursday, Health Minister Arti Singh Rao confirmed that HSIIDC will oversee the construction of the Rs 1,054-crore hospital near Police Lines. Officials have been directed to complete the remaining formalities at the earliest. This development comes months after the project's latest design, which includes a 400-bed hospital with provision for adding 200 more beds in a second phase, reached the final approval stage.
Current State of Public Healthcare in Gurgaon
Gurgaon currently has only one major public hospital, the Civil Hospital in Sector 10, which treats an average of 2,000 patients daily in its outpatient department. The new hospital project is expected to significantly strengthen government healthcare infrastructure in the city, where residents have long demanded a larger public hospital to cater to the rapidly growing population.
The state government earlier instructed the CPWD to prepare drawings for the revised 400-plus-200-bed model after years of changes to the project's scope and design. At present, the land designated for the new Civil Hospital has been turned into a parking lot. The proposed hospital has undergone multiple revisions since it was first announced.
History of Project Revisions
Initially envisioned as an expansion of the existing Civil Lines hospital, the project later shifted to complete demolition and reconstruction. The proposed capacity also fluctuated over the years, moving from 500 beds to a 750-bed facility announced in the 2023-24 state budget, before being scaled down to a phased 400-bed hospital with room for future expansion.
The CPWD prepared designs for a 750-bed, 10-storey hospital by mid-2024, and the state allocated nearly Rs 990 crore for the project. However, the plan was subsequently revised again, delaying construction on the ground.
Structural Issues with Old Hospital
The existing Civil Lines hospital, built in 1967, had faced structural problems for years. Between 2015 and 2016, six roof-collapse incidents were reported in different sections of the hospital, including the maternity ward and intensive care unit, prompting the shifting of critical services to the Sector 10 Civil Hospital. The Public Works Department declared the building unsafe in both 2015 and 2017 following safety audits.
While demolition of the old hospital was approved in 2019, the process took nearly three years because of the pandemic. By late 2022, the hospital building and an adjoining school structure had been razed to clear space for the new facility. While the city's population has grown over the years, affordable healthcare has not kept pace, and private hospitals remain too expensive for most residents.
