Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (NMMC should tackle Fortis issue at once) that was published in Newsband

NMMC should tackle Fortis issue at once
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) had made an agreement with Hiranandani Hospital for providing 10% reservation at its super specialty facility after NMMC had offered its space in Vashi to run the private hospital. It was decided that patients referred from corporation's First Reference Unit (FRU) to Hiranandani would be provided medicines at concessional rates. The civic body had entered into an agreement with the hospital on the basis of terms and conditions that were agreed upon by the general body and standing committee. It was clearly decided that there would be 10% quota for NMMC patients at Vashi Hospital.
But Hiranandani later sold the hospital to Fortis, which has been alleged of defying norms of the agreement by denying benefits of the pact to civic patients. Also the patients referred to the hospital by the civic body do not get treatment as they should get. Now why is the hospital charging people referred by the civic hospitals? Why are these patients not given proper treatment? The hospital authorities say that they do provide free services to the patients but they charge for the consumables. The question is why should patients be made to pay for consumables too? Isn't this a breach in the terms of the contract?
Firstly, NMMC had leased out the land to Hiranandani hospital at rates lower than the market rate. The property department had worked out the rate at Rs 5.33 per sq feet and it was given at Rs 4.25 per square feet. How could NMMC do that? Who gave the department the authority to sell the land to the hospital at lower rate? Again, how could NMMC permit transfer of shares from Hiranandani to Fortis Hospital? How could its department encroach upon the powers of general body and the standing committee by granting transfer of shares? NMMC should form an enquiry committee to go into the roots of these scams and next take proper actions against those members of property department who played this mischief.
Now that Hiranandani has sold the hospital to Fortis, that doesn't mean that the contract NMMC had made with Hiranandani doesn't apply to Fortis. So what if NMMC had entered into an agreement with Hiranandani and not Fortis? Now that Fortis is the new owner of the hospital it is bound by the contract too and it has to obey the terms and conditions entered into while signing the contract. Fortis compulsorily has to provide free-of-cost treatment to the patients referred by the civic hospitals. If it fails to do this, NMMC should not hesitate to take necessary actions against Fortis for violating the terms and conditions of the contract. NMMC should tackle this issue at the earliest so that the poor patients don't have to suffer.