The allegation made by Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman over allocation of land to Manipur based Shija Hospitals and Research Institute, without cabinet approval is totally baseless and misleading, said Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury.

Earlier, on Sunday senior Congress leader and MLA, Sudip Roy Barman alleged serious irregularities in the allotment of 28 acres of government land to a private hospital.

Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan Sudip accompanied by Pradesh Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha  said land belongs to the Animal Resources Development (ARD) Department, located in the Banikya Chowmuhani area of Bodhjung Nagar.

However, the government rejected the charges and said "completely false and misleading.’’

Sudip said that doctors from private hospitals had recently conducted an operation on a patient at Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC), which caught his attention and raised questions about the involvement of out-of-state doctors. Upon further investigation, Sudip claimed to have discovered that the ARD office near Banikya Chowmuhani, he alleged that the concern Department had forwarded a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for 28 acres of government land to the District Magistrate, allegedly with the intention of allotting the land to Private Hospital.

Sudip emphasized that the allotment appeared to bypass due procedure, as no decisions regarding the land had been made in any cabinet meetings. He further questioned whether the Minister of the ARD department was not aware of the NOC, which had reportedly been approved without proper oversight.

He alleged  that the land allotment was part of a larger scheme of corruption.

 Meanwhile, Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury addressing another press conference at Civil Secretariat on Sunday afternoon dismissed Roy Barman's claims as "completely false and misleading."

Chowdhury explained that Shija Hospitals and Research Institute, has been providing healthcare services through a super-speciality hospital in Manipur for the past 39 years. In December 2023, the institute expressed interest in opening a similar facility in Tripura. Chowdhury clarified the state government's policy, stating, "If any private organization is interested in developing infrastructure in agriculture, industry, education, health, or other sectors in the state, the government will arrange to provide them with the necessary land."

Following this policy, the state government initiated a search for suitable land and a plot of 28 acres of unused land belonging to the Animal Resources Development Department in R.K. Nagar was identified.

"After receiving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Animal Resources Department, it was sent to the West Tripura District Magistrate. From there, it will go through the Revenue Department before being discussed in the cabinet."

The minister emphasized that the state government will adhere to all rules and regulations in allocating land to Shija Hospital and Research Institute.

He reiterated that the state government following all rules and regulations will provide the land to Srija Hospital. Chowdhury added that for the development of health infrastructures, the state government earlier also gave land to ILS Hospital and 15 acre land in Dharmanagar to Cachar Cancer Hospital. During the press meet Health Department Secretary Kiran Gitte was present in the press conference.