RAIPUR: A day after the Vedanta cancer hospital was inaugurated at Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh, the opposition Congress alleged the Raman Singh government had shown favourable treatment to Vedanta group as the state didn't cancel the MoU signed with the organisation earlier when it failed to timely meet the given conditions and allowed it to go ahead with completion of the hospital.
“The MoU was signed in 2009 with the land allocated at concessional rate to Vedanta and according to the agreement the hospital was to be constructed by 2011 but the government stood by for seven years instead of seizing the allotted land”, the state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel charged and further asked why the government recently cancelled the MoU when the construction of hospital has already been accomplished?
The MoU was declared null and void and the Vedanta being asked to pay Rs 34 crore as penalty.
"Then how could the same land be allocated to Vedanta?", the Congress chief asked.
The land at the concessional rate was given on the pre-condition that the poor cancer patients would be benefitted with the advance better treatment. The CM Raman Singh inaugurated Central India’s first state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility at Chhattisgarh new capital city of Naya Raipur on Sunday.
“There is no issue or dispute remaining now”, Singh asserted.
The Nayar Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) issued a clarification citing there is no concession given to Vedanta.
“After cancelling the MoU with the Vedanta Medical Research Foundation (VMRF) the amount at the existing premium rates will be taken for the allotted land given for the cancer hospital. We know VMRF is not commercial entity but governed by Foundation Companies Act 1956, that works on no loss-no profit basis”, NRDA general manager Mahadev Kavre said.
According to the NRDA the MoU was cancelled as the organisation couldn’t fulfil the conditions within the given time limit following which the same land was given at existing premium rates for providing health facilities.
The Chairperson of the VNRF Jyoti Agrawal affirmed that the state-of-the-art hospital will serve the common at no profit basis.
“The hospital is equipped with state of the art infrastructure, diagnostic and treatment facilities, which will be the only integrated oncology hospital in Central India”, she said.