Bhagwati Hospital will not be run under PPP model, assures Goyal
The announcement follows the intense backlash against the BMC’s earlier proposal to operate the Borivali hospital under a 30-year PPP model. The move triggered protests from municipal workers, healthcare unions, and local residents, who argued that handing over a hospital rebuilt with ₹500 crore of public funds would jeopardise access to affordable healthcare
MUMBAI: Following widespread protests, the Maharashtra government and the BMC have clarified that Bhagwati Hospital, Borivali, will not be run under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, as proposed in last month’s Government Resolution.
While the clarification has brought temporary relief, questions remain about whether the hospital will be operated directly by the BMC or handed over to a charitable trust—a model followed by several large private hospitals. Under such arrangements, patients are covered by the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which provides healthcare coverage only up to ₹5 lakh unlike the fully free treatment offered in public hospitals.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, during his review meeting with BMC officials on Saturday, assured that the hospital’s redevelopment would be completed by May 31. “Bhagwati Hospital will not be privatised,” he said. “It will operate on a no-profit, no-loss basis, either by the BMC or charitable trusts and will provide services under Ayushman Bharat.”
The announcement follows the intense backlash against the BMC’s earlier proposal to operate the Borivali hospital under a 30-year PPP model. The move triggered protests from municipal workers, healthcare unions, and local residents, who argued that handing over a hospital rebuilt with ₹500 crore of public funds would jeopardise access to affordable healthcare, especially for low-income communities.
According to the initial plan, only 148 of the 490 hospital beds would have remained under the BMC’s control, with the rest managed by private entities, a scenario that raised fears of increased treatment costs. The Municipal Mazdoor Union voiced concerns over potential job losses and threatened a hunger strike if the PPP model was implemented. Past PPP experiences, such as the troubled Seven Hills Hospital project, have further fuelled scepticism about the viability and transparency of such ventures.
Highlighting the hospital’s importance, Pradeep Govind Narkar, joint secretary of the Municipal Mazdoor Union, said, “Bhagwati is the only tertiary-care hospital run by the BMC in Borivali and caters to patients from Dahisar and Mira Road. It must be fully operational at the earliest. Patients are already being shuttled between hospitals due to the delay in reopening it after redevelopment.”
“If it becomes a PPP model, many poor patients won’t be able to afford the healthcare, as Ayushman Bharat has a cap of ₹5 lakh,” he added.
Goyal also announced that work was underway for a new 1,000-bed hospital in Magathane, with similar projects planned in Kandivali West and Gorai—each to be covered under Ayushman Bharat.
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