A fresh political flashpoint has erupted in Mumbai’s healthcare sector after the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee urged Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani not to proceed with a proposed takeover of the sprawling SevenHills Hospital in Andheri.
In a letter dated September 24, Congress vice-president and ex-deputy mayor Rajesh Sharma appealed to Ambani’s “public duty and philanthropy,” arguing that the 1,500-bed multi-specialty hospital would best serve society if handed over to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) instead of being privatised further.
“Such a step would not only be a great service to society but also add to your legacy as someone who stood for the people at a critical juncture,” Sharma wrote, noting that the facility’s scale and public importance “cannot truly serve its best purpose under private ownership alone.”
What happened to SevenHills Hospital?
SevenHills, spread across 16.7 acres in Marol, is one of the largest hospitals in the country, but its journey has been anything but smooth.
SevenHills Hospital was envisioned as a world-class healthcare destination when it opened in 2010, but since then it has repeatedly found itself in controversy.
The project ran into massive cost overruns, with debts reportedly spiraling to over Rs 1,000 crore. Within a few years of its launch, the promoters were dragged into insolvency proceedings. Despite its massive infrastructure, only a fraction of its 1,500 beds were operational for much of the last decade, with several wings lying vacant due to financial and managerial hurdles.
During the pandemic, the Maharashtra government temporarily took over parts of the facility to accommodate patients. The hospital was in the news for inadequate preparedness, delayed ramp-ups, and debates over pricing.
This hospital has become a symbol of the larger debate over whether mega-healthcare facilities should remain in private hands or be integrated into the public system to ensure access for the urban poor.
The Reliance angle has revived the tug-of-war. While a takeover by one of India’s biggest corporate houses could potentially bring in financial stability and global healthcare expertise, critics argue it risks turning the hospital into a profit-first venture.
Whether Reliance proceeds with its interest, or the state steps in to reclaim SevenHills under the MCGM umbrella, remains to be seen. But the hospital’s future, once again, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.