ISLAMABAD: A proposed government hospital in India's Madhya Pradesh state has sparked controversy after it emerged that dozens of doctors and healthcare workers have been appointed to the facility despite the hospital having no building and never treating a single patient, Indian media reported.
According to Indian media, the 100-bed Khajrana Civil Hospital in Indore was approved by the Madhya Pradesh government on June 23, 2020, to serve more than 300,000 residents in Khajrana and surrounding areas.
However, six years later, construction has yet to begin because authorities have not secured physical possession of the land earmarked for the project.
According to The Indian Express, the state government has nevertheless filled 87 sanctioned posts, including specialist doctors, medical officers, nurses, laboratory technicians and pharmacists.
The latest appointment, a laboratory technician, was made in June this year, even though the hospital exists only in official records.
NDTV reported that the appointed staff have been temporarily deployed to government hospitals and Mukhyamantri Sanjeevani Clinics across Indore while remaining officially attached to the proposed Khajrana hospital. The report described the facility as a "ghost hospital" because it has no address, wards, beds or patients despite continued transfers and postings in its name.
According to The Indian Express, Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Madhav Hasani said the Health Department has been allotted land for the hospital but has not yet received physical possession. He added that district authorities are working to resolve the land issue so construction can begin.
Indian media reported that Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla attributed the delay to the unavailability of suitable land, saying the project remains active in government records despite the lack of progress on the ground.
According to The Indian Express, the hospital was intended to reduce pressure on Indore's overcrowded public hospitals, including MY Hospital, MTH Hospital, PC Sethi Hospital and the District Hospital.
The newspaper reported that Indore has only 1,240 government hospital beds outside medical colleges for a population of nearly 3.5 million, significantly below the National Health Policy benchmark of two beds per 1,000 people.
Meanwhile, ETV Bharat reported that the site earmarked for the hospital remains vacant and has effectively turned into a dumping ground, while appointments and transfers linked to the proposed facility continue, further fueling criticism of administrative inefficiency.
