Mumbai: BMC seeks private partner to run redeveloped Bhagwati Hospital for 30 years

Mumbai—Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation floats PPP tender for Bhagwati Hospital

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated a tendering process to appoint a private operator to run the newly redeveloped 490-bed Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli on a public–private partnership (PPP) basis for 30 years, officials said on Friday. The move represents a reversal of the earlier position taken by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who last year had given assurances that the hospital would not be privatised. Under the current BMC tender, the civic body will retain ownership of the hospital building while a selected private partner will manage operations and be required to make specified investments and payments. Key terms in the tender

• The private operator must invest at least ₹150 crore in hospital infrastructure.
• The operator must pay the BMC an annual lease rent of at least ₹6.6 crore, payable in advance.
• Rent will increase by 10% every 10 years, according to the tender.
• The contract includes fines for delayed payments and a termination clause if inpatient department (IPD) services are not begun within 240 days.
• At least 50% of beds will be reserved for BMC patients and beneficiaries of government health schemes such as the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Ayushman Bharat.

Item	Detail
Bed capacity	490 beds
Minimum capital investment	₹150 crore
Annual lease rent (minimum)	₹6.6 crore
IPD launch deadline	240 days

Civic officials said the objective is to secure a recurring revenue stream for the BMC without bearing the full financial and managerial responsibility of running a large hospital. The authority also plans to appoint an officer on special duty to monitor day-to-day functioning and to audit patient treatment and billing records, the tender documents state. The decision has political and civic ramifications. Last year the proposal to involve private agencies in running Bhagwati Hospital drew protests from doctors, health activists and BMC unions. Following sustained opposition, Mr Goyal — who is the Member of Parliament from Mumbai North — had publicly stated his opposition to privatisation.

“No privatisation of Bhagwati Hospital will be done and services to patients will be offered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. It will be run on a no-profit, no-loss basis by BMC or a charitable organisation, with services for the poor available under the Ayushman Bharat scheme,”

Those assurances contrasted with the present tender, which restricts bidders to eligible non-profit organisations but does not categorically bar private operators. Critics of the restricted non-profit-only approach note that many of the city’s established private hospitals are themselves run by non-profit trusts, potentially blurring the line between public and private management. BMC has attempted to address concerns over affordability by proposing a cap on treatment charges under its Hospital Service Rate (HSR) framework and by reserving half the beds for publicly funded patients. The civic body has also incorporated contractual safeguards including fines and service-launch timelines to ensure continuity of care. Local health activists and unions who opposed earlier plans had argued that handing day-to-day operations to private entities might compromise access for lower-income residents despite contractual reservations. The BMC says auditing and an officer on special duty will provide oversight, though it remains to be seen how tender terms will be finalised and how civil-society stakeholders will respond. The tender has been formally issued; interested eligible non-profit organisations may submit bids as per the BMC schedule. Further details, including the timeline for appointment and the precise monitoring mechanism, are expected to be published in the BMC tender documents and subsequent announcements. The development brings to the fore wider debates in Mumbai over how the city should finance and manage large public hospitals while safeguarding access for the economically vulnerable. For Borivli residents, the immediate questions will be delivery of promised services, compliance with the 50% bed reservation for government-scheme beneficiaries, and the transparency of the partner-selection process.