Pune: The Sassoon Hospital has been in the news for all wrong reasons, of late. A shocking fact has emerged that an illegal pay and park facility is being run on its premises.
The contract to run the parking facility was given to SK Enterprises in November 2020. Its term ended in November 2022. There are four parking lots on the hospital premises. For a two-wheeler, Rs 5 is charged for the first two hours, Rs 10 for 12 hours and Rs 15 for 24 hours. For a three- or four-wheeler, Rs 10 is charged for the first two hours, Rs 25 for 12 hours and Rs 40 for 24 hours.
Details of the parking lots were sought under a Right To Information (RTI) query. The Sassoon Hospital administration has clearly mentioned that the contract of the said parking lot had ended. The contract was not undersigned by the Sassoon Hospital dean. As per the terms and conditions, the contractor has to provide a uniform and an identity card to the parking attendants. However, they have not been provided. On what basis are they recovering parking charges from vehicle owners? The administration has no answer to this question.
Rs 1.5 lakh contract charges not paid
The contractor was paying over Rs 1.51 lakh per month to the Sassoon Hospital administration as the contract charge. However, the contractor is still running the facility even after the end of the contract period. The administration said that the contractor has been taking treatment in a private hospital after an accident. Hence, he has not paid the monthly charges. However, it was learnt that the contractor had given some cheques to the administration, which have not been deposited yet. A mum is being kept about the delay in depositing the cheques.
Recovering double fees
Though a two-wheeler is charged Rs 5 for the first two hours, the attendants are taking Rs 10. A receipt is also not issued. When demanded, an old receipt is issued after striking out the old number on the receipt.
QUOTE
The parking lot contract ended in November 2022. However, the contract was extended till the new contractor was appointed. We are still to get the monthly contract charges. We have got their cheques deposited as a guarantee, which will be encashed to recover the dues. – Anil Mane, Superintendent, Sassoon Hospital
