Renovation delayed, HDMC to transfer hospital to health dept

Hubballi: A proposal seeking the transfer of HDMC's maternity and general hospital in old Hubballi, to the health department, has been submitted following the prolonged delay in its renovation work. HDMC had proposed handing over the hospitals in August 2025, as renovation work was incomplete.The work began in 2019 and was supposed to be completed by 2022. However, it is stalled at the finishing stage due to financial constraints. As resolved in the general body meeting, the proposal has now been sent to the health department for further action.Locals depend on this hospital, and it has been a boon for women. However, the building was demolished due to a lack of visitor facilities, and the new building would be a G+3 floor high-tech hospital with 100 beds. As much as 90% of the work was completed. The remaining work came to a halt due to a lack of funds.The estimated cost was Rs 14 crore, and around Rs 7 crore of the work was completed. Initially, the work failed to take off, and later, many changes were made. According to a source, the project was carried out in two phases. Some grants in phase 2 were released under Mahatma Gandhi Nagar Vikas. Due to a shortage of funds, the contractor stopped the work. Therefore, it was decided to hand over the hospital to the health department.HDMC superintending engineer, Vijaykumar R, told TOI, "A proposal was sent to the health department after inspection. The proposal was sent from the district health officer to the health department. After a complete investigation from the health department, the handover process will be done."