CHENNAI: The building allotted for a primary health centre in Mathur MMDA has been lying unused for more than two decades, forcing residents to go to the nearest government hospital in Manali that is ill-equipped to handle the additional quantum of patients from Mathur, residents claim.
Mathur MMDA, along with Chinna Mathur and Periya Mathur, houses over 35,000 people. “There is a building that had been allotted for this purpose in the original plan. The Rotary Club, Guindy, had come forward with an investment of `19 lakh in 2009 for maintaining the hospital in a tie-up with the corporation but it was not given the nod,” said RS Babu.
When the planned locality under the MMDA scheme came into being in 1992, its original plan had allocated two plots R87 and the adjacent public purpose land R88 for a health centre, among other public amenities.
Considering the pollution in the area with the numerous chemical industries surrounding it, a primary health centre is long overdue, said residents, especially since the original plan had provisions for the same. “When we enquired, we were told that the building was sold in 2009 to a private party since it fell into the ‘saleable area’ category,” said G Shankar, another resident.
A senior corporation official said that a primary health centre has been proposed for Mathur under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) scheme. “But there is no confirmation on its current status,” said the official.