SHIMLA: The Kamla Nehru Hospital patients, staff and local citizens today got a breather from what they call a “mindless and forced shifting” on Wednesday after the Himachal Pradesh High Court put an interim stay on the Sukhu government’s move to shift the gynaecology department and OPD to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital.
In what is being seen as a major setback to the government led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and a huge relief for Shimla residents, the division bench headed by Chief Justice G. S. Sandhawalia stayed the ongoing proceedings initiated by the state government over the controversial shifting plan.
The petition was filed by Janwadi Mahila Samiti president Falma Chauhan and others, who challenged the move to dismantle one of Himachal Pradesh’s oldest and most emotionally connected mother-and-child healthcare institutions.
The petitioners argued that the shifting would cripple healthcare access for pregnant women, newborn babies and patients coming from remote hill districts.
For over a century, Kamla Nehru Hospital has stood as a lifeline for mothers and infants in the state capital.
Citizens, doctors, staff members, shopkeepers and local businessmen had joined hands in protest, warning that shifting the services to the already overburdened IGMC campus would turn healthcare into chaos.
The High Court sought answers from the state government on the entire process undertaken so far and stayed further action till the next hearing.
The bench observed the matter required serious consideration before any irreversible step was taken.
The interim order has triggered celebrations among protesters who have been agitating for weeks to save the heritage institution.
Many described the court intervention as “the first real victory of citizens against bureaucratic bulldozing.”
The controversy has also exposed uneasy political silence. Even the opposition leader Jairam Thakur including Bharatiya Janata Party has largely avoided taking a clear public stand on the issue.
Political murmurs in Shimla suggest that leaders cutting across party lines, including some influential MLAs and even sections linked to former power centres, are allegedly not unhappy with the proposed shifting as it could potentially open prime space around the hospital area for MLA luxury mansions.
Though no official confirmation exists, such whispers have intensified public distrust over the government’s intentions.
The court’s intervention now places the Sukhu government on the defensive over a move many citizens describe as insensitive, ill-planned and disconnected from ground realities.
For the expectant mothers, newborn babies, hospital staff and ordinary Shimla residents, the stay order has come as a rare moment of hope in a battle to protect not just a hospital, but a century-old public institution woven deeply into the city’s history and emotions.
RESPONSES:
1. Excellent decision by High Court of Himachal.
Almighty gives these politicians some common sense.
These politicians can do anything for themselves
-Dr MANOJ THAKUR, FORMER, HOD ORTHOPEDICS IGMC SHIMLA.
