Bombay Hospital, ADAG eye Jaipur

With an investor-friendly medical policy in place, corporate houses and big hospitals are showing interest in setting up hospitals in Rajasthan.

Sources in the Rajasthan government said the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Bombay Hospital, among others, were planning to set up hospitals in Jaipur.

Land has been earmarked for the proposed Rs 200-crore Medi City project of the Ambani group, according to sources.

"We have shown the land to the representatives of the company in Jharota in Jaipur, which they liked and we will hold it for them for six months," an official said, adding the project involved an over 800-bed super-specialty hospital, a paramedical training centre, and an ayurvedic centre.

"It would be very similar to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but with different facilities having different set-ups," he added.

The Bombay Hospital also proposes to come up with an over 600-bed, multi-specialty hospital, estimated to cost Rs 150 crore. Besides this, the Kedawat Hospital is planning a 100-bed multi-specialty hospital in the city.

"Then there are a couple of proposals on hospitals for heart ailments and cancer treatment," a Jaipur Development Authority official said.

It may be recalled that the state government a few months ago had come out with a roadmap to boost medical facilities and medical tourism.

In the "Policy to Promote Private Investment in Health Care Facilities 2006", special emphasis has been laid on promoting and developing the concept of medical tourism, as also the level of medical education in the state.

For this, land is being provided at special prices to all new private medical institutes, including medical and dental colleges, diagnosis centres, blood banks, and nursing and paramedical training institutes.

The policy also gives a boost to other medical streams like auyraveda, homoeopathy and naturopathy. According to the policy, a land bank will be created to give land to medical institutes promoting and practising alternative therapies.

The policy says nursing and paramedical institutes will have to invest at least Rs 5 crore.

Similarly, nursing homes and 15-bed hospitals planning a facility within 50 km from the regional headquarters, or 20 km from the district headquarters, or in a village or town with a population of less than 50,000 will have to invest at least Rs 50 lakh.

Investors will also have to abide by environment protection rules on hospital waste disposal and follow the rules and regulations set by the committee on health standards.