Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to satate :-
(a) whether Government of India is constructing a 500 bedded hospital at Dickoya in Sri Lanka; and
(b) if so, when was this project conceived, date of approval, date of commencement of work and the estimated cost?
ANSWER: THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI E. AHAMED)
(a) & (b) The proposal to construct a 150-bed hospital in Dickoya, near Hatton in the Central Province of Sri Lanka under India’s bilateral development assistance programme was conceived in October 2002 to help improve the standards of medical facilities in the Central Province (upcountry region) of Sri Lanka where Indian Origin Tamils (IOTs) are living. In February 2003, Government of India nominated the Hospital Services Consultation Corporation Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Family Welfare and Child Welfare, as the consultant for the project. In January 2010, the Committee on Non-plan Expenditure approved the project to be undertaken at a total cost of Rs. 47.27 crores. After the tender process, the civil works related to the project was awarded to the lowest bidder, M/s Green Valley’s Shelters Pvt. Ltd., and the work on site started in February 2011.