Pune, 18 June 2025: Despite a clear policy to reserve free beds for underprivileged patients in private hospitals, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has failed to spread awareness, resulting in thousands of needy patients being deprived of free treatment. A total of 19 beds are reserved daily across three major private hospitals, but very few citizens are aware of this facility.
The PMC had granted additional FSI (Floor Space Index) to Ruby Hall Clinic, Sahyadri Hospital on Karve Road, and K. K. Eye Institute in exchange for providing free treatment to patients recommended by the civic body. As per the agreement, Ruby Hall must keep 12 beds free, Sahyadri five beds, and K. K. Eye Institute two beds every day. However, over the past three years, only 227 patients have availed themselves of this benefit out of an expected 20,805.
Vivek Velankar, president of Sajan Nagarik Manch, has brought this issue to light and filed a complaint with Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. Velankar has demanded immediate steps to increase public awareness about these reserved beds so that poor patients can access quality treatment at private hospitals without financial burden.
Adding to the concern, a similar agreement signed in 2013 with AIIMS Hospital in Aundh, reserving 10% of beds for PMC-referred patients, has also failed to benefit the intended population significantly. Activists claim that poor communication and lack of publicity are the main reasons behind the underutilisation of such schemes.
Velankar has urged the PMC to conduct a wide-reaching awareness campaign, raise the income eligibility limit for needy patients, and strengthen monitoring to ensure hospitals comply with their commitments. Citizens hope that the administration will act swiftly to make this much-needed facility accessible to those who genuinely need it.
