RTI application reveals Raksha Nursing Home has neither the NOC nor the necessary medical permit from BMC; activist alleges BMC hasn't acted on her complaints
RTI application reveals Raksha Nursing Home has neither the NOC nor the necessary medical permit from BMC; activist alleges BMC hasn't acted on her complaints
An RTI application has unearthed that a seven-year-old hospital in Malad (West) has been functioning without the requisite permissions from the BMC.
Raksha Nursing Home, which runs out of the first floor of Asmita Jyot Housing Society in Malad has been in operation since the past seven years without the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the civic body or the necessary medical permit, said RTI activist Yasmin Memon.u00a0 
The seven-year hitch: Activist Yasmin Memon (below) shows the
BMC's letter stating that Raksha hospital has been running without
municipal registration for seven years
While the hospital is run by one Dr Kabra, the premises it is operated out of are owned by Amar Mishra.
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According to Memon, she had submitted her RTI query to the BMC on June 20 this year, asking about the permissions granted to the hospital under the Development Control Rules as per Supreme Court guidelines. On August 20, she received a handwritten reply from the BMC's Medical Officer of Health (MOH) in Malad.
Memon quoted the RTI reply to say that the hospital has been running without municipal registration from the MOH for seven years now.
"I have witnessed many deaths at the hospital owing to improper treatment. I had asked the BMC to provide me with the essential documents regarding the permissions. However, in spite of repeated visits to their offices, the civic body did not respond. I later found that the building where the hospital is located does not have an NOC from the BMC for construction. Therefore, it is established that the hospital is illegal," she said, adding, "I have filed many complaints with the BMC. However, no action has been taken against the owners of the building and the hospital."
BMC speaks
The P-North ward officers of the BMC, under whose jurisdiction the nursing home falls, said that they have sent many notices to Kabra, warning him of action if he does not get the necessary permissions within 10 days. The MOH, Dr Mahendra Signapurkar, said, "We have sent notices to the hospital but Dr Kabra has not submitted any documents. I am out of the city at the moment and will look into the matter when I return. We would take action against them."
The other side
Dr Kabra, owner of the nursing home, said, "I have received the notices and we have submitted the documents for the necessary permissions. However, the owner of the premises that houses the hospital is responsible for the permissions."
When contacted, Amar Mishra, the property's owner, said, "We have the NOC for the hospital from the society. However, we do not have the BMC NOC, which we think is not needed. There are many places like this which are illegal."
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