Date:09/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/09/stories/2008040961680300.htm

New Delhi

Court notices to Rockland and DDA

Staff Reporter

On report by Monitoring Committee

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Rockland Hospital in the Qutub Institutional Area, the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Police on a report by the Court-appointed Monitoring Committee for overseeing demolition of unauthorised constructions in the Capital, accusing it of misusing for commercial purposes a piece of land meant for institutional purposes.

Issuing notices, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rekha Sharma asked the respondents to file their replies to the Committee’s accusation within two weeks.

Earlier, the Monitoring Committee in its report informed the Court that despite the Vice-Chairman of the Authority recommending cancellation of the hospital’s lease no action had been taken against it.

The Committee stated that the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi police looking into all such cases on High Court orders was also not investigating the allegation against the hospital speedily saying that DDA was yet to provide some more information to it about it.

Management

The Authority had allotted the land to the hospital management at a concessional rate for setting up an institute for research in cancer but instead it had put the land to commercial use by setting up a hospital and running it for profit, the Monitoring Committee stated.

The Authority had sealed many such buildings in the area but had taken no action against the hospital.