Hubballi: A proposal seeking the transfer of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation's (HDMC) maternity and general hospital in old Hubballi to the health department has been submitted, following prolonged delays in its renovation work. The HDMC had initially proposed handing over the hospital in August 2025, as renovation remained incomplete.
Renovation Timeline and Challenges
The renovation work began in 2019 and was originally scheduled for completion by 2022. However, financial constraints have stalled the project at the finishing stage. As resolved in the general body meeting, the proposal has now been sent to the health department for further action.
Locals heavily depend on this hospital, which has been a boon for women in the area. The old building was demolished due to a lack of visitor facilities, and the new structure is planned as a G+3 floor high-tech hospital with 100 beds. Approximately 90% of the construction work has been completed, but the remaining work came to a halt due to insufficient funds.
Financial Details and Phases
The estimated cost of the project was Rs 14 crore, of which around Rs 7 crore worth of work has been completed. Initially, the work failed to take off, and later, many changes were made to the plan. According to a source, the project was executed in two phases. Some grants for phase 2 were released under the Mahatma Gandhi Nagar Vikas scheme. Due to a shortage of funds, the contractor stopped work, leading to the decision to hand over the hospital to the health department.
HDMC superintending engineer Vijaykumar R told TOI, "A proposal was sent to the health department after inspection. The proposal was forwarded from the district health officer to the health department. After a complete investigation by the health department, the handover process will be completed."
