India, April 24 -- The BMC is pushing ahead with its controversial decision to privatise services in civic-run hospitals, the latest move being a proposal to hand over space within these institutions to private players to run diagnostic services.

According to the proposal, submitted by the civic health department to the civic improvements committee, diagnostic services such as sonography, mammography, MRI scans, CT scan, OPD services, dialysis, pathology, among others, should be handed over to private players for periods ranging from 10 to 30 years. Private firms would have to charge rates determined by the BMC.

The BMC has been roundly criticised for privatising health services, a move that is pricing out the people these institutions ...