Teachers’ Hospital construction in limbo

KATHMANDU: The government seems to have removed the construction of the Teacher’s Hospital from its priority list. The government’s policies, programs, and budget for the fiscal year 2023/24 make no mention of the hospital.

However, the budget for the current fiscal year has allocated Rs 50 million for preparatory work, such as preparing a detailed project report and erecting a perimeter wall on the proposed site. The budget also stated that the necessary funds would be allocated for the project after the DPR is prepared. However, no amount has been allocated for the proposed hospital in the next budget.

Sources indicate that the construction process became uncertain due to the obstruction from the Ministry of Forest and Environment as the proposed site is on forest land.

The government has formed a committee under Bimal Sharma Chalise to scout possible locations for the hospital and conduct a pre-feasibility study. The committee conducted a pre-feasibility study at four locations – Bhagwanpur in Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality-15 of Chitwan, Jagati in Suryabinayak Municipality-8, Gundu in Suryabinayak Municipality-4 of Bhaktapur, and Chitlang in Thaha Municipality-10 of Makwanpur. The committee submitted its report to the then Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Devendra Poudel. After reviewing the report, the cabinet decided to build the hospital in Bhagwanpur, Chitwan.

The report states that the government should proceed with the construction of the building and infrastructure, administrative office, external and internal departments, emergency department, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology department, and canteen for a 300-bed hospital on 21 bighas of land in Bhagwanpur, following the standards approved by the Government of Nepal and by preparing an environmental impact assessment report.

The initial goal is to build a 300-bed hospital, with plans to expand it to a 1,500-bed hospital. The government intended to provide a 40-50% discount on services at the hospital for teaching staff and their families.

Despite the consent of the locals to build the hospital on the land being used for cattle grazing, the forest authorities have not granted permission to construct a perimeter wall at the proposed site. The proposed site belongs to community forests with sisau trees.

Deepak Sharma, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, stated that the process may be prolonged as various resources need to be arranged for the hospital’s construction. “Although the government has prepared a DPR for the construction of a 300-bed hospital, it has not been included in the project in the budget and program of the next fiscal year. Therefore, the construction process may face delays,” he added.

Kamala Tuladhar, president of the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, remains hopeful that the construction process of the hospital will move forward once the issue with the forest authorities is resolved. “The DPR has already been prepared. If the government doesn’t move the project forward, we are prepared to fight for it,” she added.