The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) is set to open a diagnostic centre in Nalasopara under a public-private partnership, with CT scans and MRI examinations expected to be available at nearly half the rates charged by private diagnostic centres.
The facility is intended to address a shortage of advanced diagnostic services in the rapidly expanding municipal area. According to information provided by the corporation’s medical department, a tender process has been completed and Krishna Diagnostic has been selected as the private partner. An agreement has also been signed.
Residents currently depend heavily on private diagnostic centres for CT scans, MRI examinations and other important tests because government hospitals in the Vasai-Virar area do not have adequate facilities for these services, the report said. The high cost of private testing has placed a financial burden on economically weaker households and middle-class patients.
The proposed centre follows a demand for more affordable diagnostic care in the municipal region. The area’s growing population has increased pressure on existing healthcare services, while patients undergoing treatment often need imaging tests to support diagnosis and clinical decisions. When such services are unavailable in public hospitals, patients are required to travel to or pay for private facilities.
The corporation had proposed establishing an advanced diagnostic centre in Nalasopara under the PPP model in February 2025. The proposal was subsequently placed before the second general body meeting held after the municipal election and was approved, according to the report. The tender was then conducted, leading to the selection of Krishna Diagnostic.
Under the arrangement described by the municipal medical department, the private operator will provide the diagnostic services while the civic body’s role will be to make the facility available through the partnership framework. The report identifies CT scans and MRI examinations as the principal services expected to benefit from the centre, but it does not provide the final tariff schedule, equipment capacity, operating hours or a public opening date.
The issue had also become a matter of public pressure. Citizens had been demanding that the civic administration make essential diagnostic tests available at lower rates, and the Congress party had recently organised a protest on the subject.
The Nalasopara centre will therefore be the first test of whether the corporation’s PPP approach can expand access to advanced diagnostics without leaving patients dependent on high-cost private care. The next publicly relevant milestones are the centre’s operational launch and the publication of its approved rates and service details.
