Ahmedabad’s public hospital budget for 2023-24 provides no information or accountability

Rupa Chinai, Dr. Nishith Shah, Jay Sheth and Brijesh Chinai, independent members, Chinai Maternity and Sarabhai General Hospitals, Board of Management, Ahmedabad, comment on hospital Budget for 2023-2024:

***

The Budget for 2023-2024 raises some vital questions about utilization of the huge funds being allocated and the total lack of transparency or accountability on how money is being spent by the VS Board of Management.
Last year’s Budget of Rs.179 crores for 2022-2023 has been increased in the current year to Rs.183 crores. Yet this year’s Budget Report is devoid of any information on the patients who benefitted from these extraordinarily huge allocations.
Take the instance of Chinai Maternity Hospital (Page 5), where between 1.4.21 to 31.4.22 the Budget Report reveals that there was not a single patient of emergency delivery done in the Gynecology Department and not a single case of emergency surgery done in the Paediatrics Department. How is that possible? Medicines allocated for patients is a mere Rs.3 crores 65 lakhs — a figure that is absurdly low given the massive allocations. There are no figures provided for surgeries performed by Orthopedic and several other Departments. This is an extraordinary way to present a Budget, where no information is provided on how public money was utilised and what is the justification for even higher allocations for the forthcoming year!
We notice (Pg. 9) that Rs. 5 lakhs is being earmarked for “Property Tax”. We would like to ask to whom is this property tax being paid and for which properties?
There are several other issues that we took up with the Board in our letter dated 17th January, 2023, in response to the outsourced Audit Report, 2022. These pertain to:

Writing off Rs.49 crores by the VS Board without providing any explanation or justification.
The lack of any action against those responsible for the Rs.8 crore Provident Fund and Duplicate Receipt Book Scams.
Utilization of Rs.16,070,759 for Ayurvedic treatment and medicines poor patients, when as far as we know, no such department exists in VSH.

We have repeatedly stressed since years, that there is an urgent need to ensure that AMC Auditors be required to take final responsibility for auditing of VSH funds that are currently being outsourced to private agencies.
We note with concern that the VS Board has not acknowledged our letter of 17th January, 2023 or cared to reply to our questions.
The hospital administration is requested to provide us complete details of outdoor and indoor patients treated at Chinai Maternity and Sarabhai Hospitals during 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 December.

Comments

How natural and organic farming can be a key to combating the climate crisis

By Raj Kumar Sinha* On July 9, while addressing the “Sahkar Samvad” in Ahmedabad with women and workers associated with cooperatives from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized that natural farming is essential for both our health and the health of the soil. This is a significant statement in the context of addressing the climate change crisis. Natural farming can play a crucial role in combating climate change. Also known as organic farming, it is a system of agriculture that can increase food production without harming the environment. Natural farming has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 35% to 50%.

100 yrs of RSS as seen by global media house: Power, controversy, push for Hindu-first India

By Rajiv Shah On a blistering summer evening in Nagpur, nearly a thousand men in brown trousers, white shirts, and black caps stood in formation as a saffron flag was raised, marking a graduation ceremony for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. This vivid scene, described in a recent FT Weekend Magazine article, “A hundred years after it was founded, India's Hindu-nationalist movement is getting closer to its goal of a Hindu-first state,” captures the enduring presence of the RSS, a century-old Hindu-nationalist organization.

Another 'honor' killing in Tamil Nadu: Caste pride has murdered love, again

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Once again, Tamil Nadu has witnessed a brutal so-called 'honor' killing. This time, it is Kevin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old software engineer from the Scheduled Caste community, who has been hacked to death by the family of the girl he loved since childhood. Kevin, a brilliant student employed at Tata Consultancy Services, was in a relationship with Subashini, his schoolmate and girlfriend. The couple, both well-educated and professionally qualified, had plans to marry. Yet, that love story ended in bloodshed — sacrificed at the altar of caste pride.

Why is India’s cheetah project under fire? Study flags ecological, social, species injustices

By Rajiv Shah A recent peer-reviewed study has sharply criticized Project Cheetah—India’s high-profile initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild—as ethically compromised, scientifically flawed, and socially unjust. Titled “Delineating the Environmental Justice Implications of an Experimental Cheetah Introduction Project in India”, the paper is authored by Yashendu C. Joshi, Stephanie E. Klarmann, and Louise C. de Waal, and was published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.

The myth of population decline: India’s real challenge is density, not fertility

By N.S. Venkataraman* India’s population in 2025 stands at approximately 1.4 billion. In 1950, it was 359 million, rising sharply to 1.05 billion by 2000. The population continues to grow and is projected to reach around 1.7 billion by 2050.

Siang dam project sparks debate over security, development, and displacement in Arunachal

By Aarna Gupta* The proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, has emerged as a contentious initiative shaped by strategic, environmental, and social concerns. Indian officials, including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, have voiced strong support for the project. One of the primary motivations is China’s plan to build a 60,000 MW hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper stretch of the Brahmaputra) in Tibet, which Indian authorities see as a threat to water and national security. In response, the 11,000 MW Siang Dam, with its 9 billion cubic meter reservoir, is viewed as a necessary countermeasure to manage water flow and reduce vulnerability.

Shanghai Textbook reassessed: Between revolutionary rhetoric and economic reality

By Harsh Thakor "Maoist Economics and the Revolutionary Road to Communism: The Shanghai Textbook on Socialist Political Economy" (1975) presents a detailed exposition of the Chinese perspective on socialist political economy under Mao . Developed during the Cultural Revolution, it outlines a theoretical framework for the functioning of a socialist alternative to capitalism. The book was formulated under the direction of Zhang Chunqiao, who played a central role in discussions, content planning, and final reviews of the draft.

Trump’s tariff tactics are a geopolitical bully move that may backfire

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent move to impose high tariffs on Indian goods is yet another example of his aggressive, unilateralist economic policy—an attempt to pressure and punish rather than to negotiate. This is not an isolated action. Trump has shown similar hostility toward other countries aligned with the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—reflecting his disdain for multipolar global cooperation and his desire to maintain American economic supremacy at all costs.

Search This Blog