Flood-hit MIOT hospital head rubbishes violation charges, denies hiding number of deaths

Responding to a PIL filed by social activist Traffic Ramaswamy, MIOT Hospital Chairman Dr PVA Mohandas clarified on Tuesday that the flood-hit MIOT Hospital had not violated encroachment laws or deviated from its building plans.

The PIL claimed encroachment and several building violations at MIOT, which was badly hit by floods in November-December 2015, resulting in the death of 18 patients being treated at the hospital's ICU. A submission to this effect was made in a counter-affidavit filed before the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh. The case has been adjourned to March 31 for further hearing.

Mohandas called the PIL frivolous, and said it had been filed without ascertaining the facts. Speaking to the Times of India, he said,“The entire construction of MIOT was done by well known construction company L&T, and they have constructed only according to the plan approval.”  He said the hospital management had built two culverts and closed a small stream bisecting the hospital's property, with government's permission.

Denying accusations that several deaths had been suppressed, he said that they had not hidden the number of deaths and that there were only 18 deaths on three days, and the deaths are being probed properly . The Kancheepuram district collector also filed a counter-affidavit stating that MIOT Hospital had not been built on poramboke land.