Shimla, Oct 4,
The question of what happens to Kamla Nehru State Hospital for Mother and Child (KNH) after the proposed shifting of gynaecology services has taken a new turn before the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
While the state government has now made it clear that there is no proposal to use the KNH premises for MLA accommodation, the court proceedings have brought another question into sharper focus: does IGMC have enough space to accommodate the services being shifted from the century-old hospital?
The issue came up during the latest hearing of a public interest litigation filed by All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) state secretary Falma Chauhan, challenging the proposed shifting of gynaecology and associated services from KNH to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC).
Also read: No proposal to use KNH premises for MLA residences, State tells HP High Court
The government’s clarification on MLA accommodation addresses one of the concerns that had surfaced publicly after the proposed relocation was announced. The Metropole complex on Cart Road, where MLAs and government employees have been accommodated, has been declared unsafe, and the government has indicated that a new building has been proposed at the site.
Against this backdrop, questions had been raised about the future use of the KNH premises once its major services were shifted. During an earlier hearing in June, the High Court had specifically sought clarification from the state on whether there was any long-term plan for the hospital premises.
The government has now told the court that there is no official proposal to house MLAs at KNH. The Secretary, Health, has further assured the court that the premises will continue to be used for hospital-related services and that the Mother and Child Hospital will continue to function there.
That, however, leaves the court with another practical issue — where exactly will the services proposed to be shifted fit into IGMC?
The space question
An affidavit filed by Dr Rita Mittal, Professor and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, provides a significant comparison.
The gynaecology wing at KNH has 1,600.95 square metres of space available to it. At IGMC, the corresponding allocation is 1,329.55 square metres — around 271 square metres less. Of the space allotted at IGMC, approximately 60.90 square metres is still under construction.
The High Court took note of the difference and observed that the space available at IGMC was considerably less than that at KNH.
The state has submitted that additional space could become available after the super-speciality department is shifted to Chamiyana. The government has been directed to place the proposed arrangement before the court through an affidavit. The matter is listed for December 1.
The figures bring a more immediate dimension to what has so far largely been debated as a question of healthcare policy.
The government has argued that bringing gynaecology services into the larger IGMC system would give women access to advanced facilities and technology, including robotic surgery. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has also described the proposed restructuring as an effort to strengthen mother-and-child healthcare infrastructure.
But the court proceedings indicate that the question is not only about what technology is available, but also about where the patients, wards, operation theatres, intensive-care facilities, OPD services and supporting departments will be accommodated.
The June proceedings had recorded a proposed allocation at IGMC covering wards, a major operation theatre including a robotic OT, post-operative facilities, ICU, general surgery, minor OT, ultrasonography and OPD space. The court had sought a comparison with the existing space at KNH and clarification on the future utilisation of the KNH premises.
More than a building
For those opposing the move, the issue is not simply about transferring a department from one building to another.
KNH has functioned as a dedicated women-and-child healthcare institution for more than a century. Established in 1923 as Lady Reading Hospital, it subsequently developed into a specialised centre serving women and children from Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh.
Its location is another part of the argument being advanced by those seeking retention of its services. Situated within Shimla’s main urban network, KNH is relatively accessible to patients from different parts of the city and surrounding areas — a factor that can assume particular importance for pregnant women, elderly attendants and patients requiring repeated hospital visits.
Opponents of the proposed shifting have argued that modernisation need not necessarily mean relocating the core services. Their position is that KNH can instead be equipped with newer surgical, diagnostic and reproductive-health facilities while retaining its specialised character.
The government, on the other hand, has maintained that integrating services with IGMC would strengthen the overall healthcare system and provide access to advanced medical technology.
The High Court’s intervention has brought both sides of the argument into a more concrete frame: what infrastructure exists at KNH, what infrastructure is actually available at IGMC, and what will happen to the KNH campus if its principal services move?
The next affidavit
The court had earlier stayed the proposed shifting of the gynaecology OPD and sought the state’s response. The government subsequently constituted a nine-member technical committee to examine the feasibility of transferring the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to IGMC and the implications of retaining it at KNH.
The latest proceedings have now separated two questions that had become closely linked in public discussion.
The first has received an answer: the government says there is no proposal to convert KNH into MLA residences.
The second remains before the court: whether IGMC has adequate space and infrastructure to absorb the proposed services, and how the KNH premises would subsequently be utilised.
That distinction matters because the future of KNH is ultimately not just a question of land use. It concerns the location, accessibility and organisation of specialised healthcare for women and children in a hill city where space itself is a limited resource.
The state’s next affidavit on the proposed space arrangement at IGMC and the future utilisation of KNH is therefore likely to provide the next significant piece of the picture.
Until then, the KNH debate has moved from speculation about what might occupy the hospital after relocation to a more concrete question before the court: whether the proposed shift can accommodate the services, patients and infrastructure that already exist at KNH.
This version gives you a stronger news-feature arc without becoming provocative: MLA question answered → space question emerges → competing healthcare arguments → history/accessibility → what the court still has to decide.
I would also consider a slightly sharper headline such as “KNH row shifts from MLA quarters to IGMC space crunch” or “KNH future back before HC, this time over IGMC space”.
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