Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray has demanded that patients residing outside Mumbai be charged a different fee for receiving treatment at the city's civic-run hospitals. In a meeting with Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani at the BMC headquarters on Friday, Thackeray suggested several measures aimed at boosting the corporation's revenue.
In a demand letter submitted to the Municipal Commissioner, Thackeray highlighted that the civic-run KEM Hospital, with a capacity of 2,250 beds, serves over 10,000 patients daily. Annually, 30 to 35 lakh patients from other states seek treatment at civic-run hospitals. This growing influx must be managed while ensuring healthcare services remain accessible to Maharashtra's residents. "Given these numbers, could different charges be levied on patients from other states? We discussed how this could be implemented," Thackeray said.
However, this is not the first time the issue of charging out-of-state patients has been raised. In 2016, the BMC administration proposed different fees for patients from outside the state, but the plan was opposed by the then-ruling Shiv Sena in 2017. The idea received criticism from corporators, who called it a “discriminatory act.” Last year, the proposal was revived in an attempt to reduce the burden on BMC's hospitals by imposing a medical fee on out-of-state patients.
Meanwhile, while speaking to the media, Thackeray stated that after the abolition of Octroi, the civic body has been seeking new revenue sources. "The BMC has never relied on financial assistance from the central or state governments, always generating its own revenue and undertaking development projects in Mumbai. However, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) led to the abolition of octroi, resulting in a revenue loss of nearly Rs 7,000 crore. This has created the need for alternative sources of income for the corporation," he said.
Thackeray also proposed introducing rent for private underground utilities as a potential revenue stream for the BMC. "We have proposed this new fee, which could generate Rs 8,000 to 10,000 crore annually. We have discussed the idea of underground utility fees, but this proposal needs to be approved by the state government," Thackeray added. While discussing the issue of Plaster of Paris(PoP) Ganesh idols, Thackeray expressed his view that idol makers should follow the government's recommendations.
