Delhi to SC: ‘Uphaar fine used for trauma units in 3 hospitals’
New Delhi: The Delhi government has told the Supreme Court that the Rs.60 crore penalty deposited by real estate barons Gopal and Sushil Ansal following the Uphaar cinema fire case has already been channelled into setting up trauma care facilities across three hospitals in the city, instead of a single centre in Dwarka as initially envisioned.
In an affidavit placed before the apex court, the government said the money was allocated to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri, Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital in Narela, and Siraspur Hospital. These locations, it argued, were chosen because of “urgent public requirement” in densely populated areas that lacked critical
emergency infrastructure.
The affidavit also pointed out that when the court had first directed the creation of a trauma centre in Dwarka, no Delhi government hospital existed in the area. Since then, the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Sector 9, Dwarka, with a capacity of 1,241 beds including 330 ICU beds, has become operational (from May 2021) and is serving residents of Dwarka and nearby zones.
The government maintained that its decision to spread the funds across three sites rather than one single trauma unit had “gone beyond the original order” in terms of maximising benefit to citizens.
However, the move has drawn sharp objections from the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT). Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost two children in the 1997 fire that killed 59 people, said it was “outrageous” that funds specifically directed by the court to build a dedicated trauma centre in memory of the victims had been diverted.
She stressed that the Supreme Court’s instructions were clear about establishing the centre at a suitable site in Dwarka, not multiple
hospitals elsewhere.
AVUT told the Supreme Court that nearly a decade after the Ansal brothers deposited Rs 60 crore in 2015, no Uphaar memorial trauma centre exists, despite court orders mandating completion
within two years.
