Mumbai, (The Hindu): The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the apex body of the Parsi community, has given the go-ahead to Medanta-The Medicity to start a hospital on the premises of BD Petit Parsee General Hospital (PGH) in Cumballa Hill. The revenue generated through the new cosmopolitan multispeciality hospital will be utilised to revive and operate the existing ‘Parsis only’ building.

While the BPP trustees were apprehensive about the decision at first, they expressed their support on Thursday. In a joint letter by the BPP and the PGH, they said, “The trustees unequivocally, firmly, and wholeheartedly support the new secular hospital.”

The trustees of the PGH signed a contract with Dr. Naresh Trehan in October. Soon after the news came out, a section of the community got upset about losing the exclusivity at the 105-year-old hospital.

Another section debated over giving away the land to Medanta at such a prime location, and demanded that the contents of the contract be made public.

But the joint letter put the arguments to rest. “The existing PGH and the proposed secular hospital shall remain at all times the exclusive property of the PGH. Medicity of Medanta Group headed by Dr. Trehan shall professionally operate and manage the new state-of-the-art facility.”

Mr. Desai also said that the solution to ensure the long-term viability of this Parsi institution is to give away part of the complex for a cosmopolitan hospital. “This agreement is not alienating the land, as the land and the cosmopolitan hospital building will remain 100% in the hands of the community. Medanta will only be operating and managing the new hospital. We really have no option,” Mr. Desai said.