In the ongoing city-wide hospitals audit drive, launched by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to enforce clinical establishment standards across the city, NMC has completed the inspection of 383 private hospitals and healthcare establishments. The ongoing scrutiny, initiated following directives from the civic general body, aims to inspect all 660 registered medical facilities across the ten municipal zones. During the extensive verification exercise, civic teams detected bed-capacity discrepancies in 31 healthcare establishments. Under the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949 (amended in 2021), medical centres are permitted to operate only the exact number of beds registered with the local authority.

 

However, multiple establishments sanctioned for 15 beds were found accommodating 16 to 18 patients, utilising unauthorised additional set-ups. Furthermore, the audit revealed that 16 hospitals completely lack designated on-site parking facilities, aggravating chronic traffic congestion on adjacent arterial roads particularly in medical hubs such as Dhantoli and Ramdaspeth. Several establishments have also failed to prominently display mandatory Citizens Charters and medical tariff rate charts at their reception counters, as required by municipal regulations. Emphasising the procedural framework governing the crackdown, a civic health official stated, “Inspections have crossed the 50 per cent mark, covering 383 facilities so far. Show-cause notices with a 24 to 48 hour compliance window are being served to all defaulting establishments. Since instant spot-fines cannot be levied under the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, statutory explanations are mandatory before penal action is finalised.

 

If replies remain unsatisfactory, monetary penalties will be invoked, while zonal offices will initiate independent action against parking non-compliance.” To streamline real-time tracking, the NMC has launched an internal monitoring portal to log inspection findings, zone-wise violations, and compliance reports. Civic authorities expect the remaining hospitals to be inspected over the coming week, warning that repeated non-compliance will invite suspension of registrations.