The Palghar district administration has been instructed to audit private hospitals and nursing homes after an incident involving Shiv Sena office-bearers at a hospital, with the review expected to examine permissions, facilities and other required arrangements at healthcare institutions across the district.
Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik issued the instructions to the district administration after the incident was raised during his interaction with journalists following the inauguration of the month-long Seva Sankalp campaign. Naik said the incident was unfortunate but that innocent people should not be implicated in the matter.
The proposed audit will be carried out through a district administration committee. Its scope, as described in the report, will include examining the approvals granted to hospitals and nursing homes, the facilities available at these institutions and other relevant compliance-related matters. The report did not specify the number of institutions to be audited, the committee’s membership or a completion deadline.
Palghar district officials and elected representatives were present during the minister’s interaction, including MP Dr Hemant Savara, MLA Rajendra Gavit, district collector Dr Indu Rani Jakhad and Zilla Parishad chief executive officer Manoj Ranade. The audit announcement places private healthcare capacity within a wider administrative review of services and regulation in the district.
The meeting also focused on the Seva Sankalp campaign, under which the administration plans to identify families that have not received the benefits of various government schemes. District collector Jakhad said ward-level camps would be organised to help 1.70 lakh residents access eligible government schemes. The campaign will operate for one month.
Officials also discussed compensation released after the natural disaster in July. More than Rs 61 crore has been distributed to the district as compensation, but some beneficiaries have reportedly remained without assistance because of errors linked to their bank-account details, according to the district collector. The report did not provide a district-wide breakdown of the affected beneficiaries or the amount still pending.
The discussions connected the healthcare audit with a separate response to the July floods. Journalists reminded the guardian minister of an assurance that action would be taken within a month against encroachments and illegal construction blamed for contributing to the flooding. Naik instructed the district administration to act promptly and work towards reopening natural drains and other routes used for rainwater discharge.
The district collector said a joint meeting of all relevant departments would be organised on the issue. The next steps therefore involve both the formation or activation of the committee for the private healthcare audit and coordination among departments responsible for drainage, encroachment and illegal construction. No specific enforcement locations or action dates were announced in the report.
