Apollo Hospitals seek alternative land for Jammu hospital after disputed allotment

Sheikh Saleem

Chittoor, October 27: Apollo Hospitals founder Dr Prathap C Reddy has reiterated his interest in establishing a hospital in Jammu, saying the project has remained stalled for the past 10 years due to a dispute over the land allotted for it.

Speaking to Kashmir Convener, Dr Reddy said the authorities had allotted land for the proposed hospital, but the site was embroiled in a dispute and no alternative land had been provided.

“For the past 10 years, I was very keen to put a hospital in Jammu. They gave me land, which is in dispute, and they did not give alternate land,” he said.

He said he had recently raised the issue with the Jammu and Kashmir leadership, stressing the need for a hospital in Jammu given the number of patients from the region who travel elsewhere for treatment.

“I said, let us do it in Jammu because so many patients come from there. And then I want to do it because it’s a lovely place,” he said.

The Apollo Hospitals founder urged the authorities to resolve the dispute over the previously allotted land or provide an alternative site to enable the project to move forward.

“So they should clear the dispute or give us new land,” he said.

Dr Reddy also spoke about the public-private partnership (PPP) model in healthcare, under which the government provides land while private operators bring in technology and develop healthcare facilities.

However, he flagged delays in government payments as a major challenge, saying dues sometimes remained unpaid for three to four years.