On Saturday in Ahmedabad, V S Hospital’s board of management on passed a budget of Rs 132.35 crores for the year 2016-17 under the chairmanship of Ahmedabad Mayor Gautam Shah amid opposition by donor family members.
As per hospital Superintendent, the budget is only for 120 beds; while the hospital’s current capacity is 1,155 beds. With over 90 per cent (Rs 119 crore) of the Rs 128-crore draft budget coming under establishment expenses, per bed expense comes to around Rs 1 crore per year. This way, if we calculate, the establishment expense of a bed comes to Rs 30,000/day. Mayor Shah also presented M J Library’s budget for 2016-17, which stood at Rs 9.64 crore after a correction of Rs 21 lakh. Main initiatives to be taken up by the library include the constitution of Atal Vichar Manch at Rs 2 lakh; Granthyatra and Vanch Amdavad initiative; live news scroll at the premises for citizens; various competition and discussions on national song, traffic awareness, photography, health, smart city for children, women and citizens.