HC serves notices to 192 hospitals in Latur

Aurangabad, Nov 1:

The Aurangabad division bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice R N Ladda recently ordered to serve notices to 192 hospitals in the Latur Municipal Corporation and other respondents for constructing establishments by taking residential construction permission, then using it for commercial purposes and causing financial losses to the corporation. The next hearing will be held on January 10, 2022.

According to the public interest litigation submitted by Mallikarjun Shivling Bhaikatti, some hospitals in the Latur city have taken the residential construction permission from the corporation and are using the buildings for commercial purposes (hospitals). Some have also not completed the affidavit procedure for registration under the Mumbai Nursing Home Registration Act while taking the permissions. The hospitals are run in residential localities.

Due to this and other reasons, the LMC had caused financial losses as the development taxes were evaded, he alleged. The petitioner on February 25, 2020, submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district collector, and after that directives were given to the municipal commissioner to take necessary action. The petitioner under the right to information Act sought information about 192 hospitals and their construction permits from the corporation.

Adv V D Gunale appeared for the petitioner while Adv Sachin Munde, Adv Vikas Kondle, and Adv Prashant Gole assisted him. At the end of the hearing, the bench ordered to serve notices to 192 hospitals, the secretary of the urban development department, the district collector, and the municipal corporation. Government pleader D R Kale accepted the notices on their behalf.