Uphaar fire: Victims’ kin rap Delhi govt using trauma centre funds elsewhere

In an affidavit filed last week, the state government said there was no state-run hospital in Dwarka at the time to house such a centre

The Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) has criticised the Delhi government’s response to the Supreme Court on diverting ₹60 crore demarcated by the court for a trauma centre in Dwarka to set up trauma centres in three upcoming projects.

The Uphaar cinema premises. (HT Archive)

In an affidavit filed last week, the state government said there was no state-run hospital in Dwarka at the time to house such a centre. The funds, received in November 2015, were reallocated in the 2020-21 budget under “Health Projects” and “PWD Maintenance.” The government said the funds are being used to set up trauma centres at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Mangolpuri (budget outlay of over ₹117 crore), Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital, Narela (over ₹244 crore), and Siraspur Hospital (over ₹487 crore).

However, members of AVUT maintained that the state government’s response was “outrageous”.

Neelam Krishnamoorthy, spokesperson for AVUT, said, “The SC, in its order, categorically ordered the state government to utilise the ₹60 crore fund for a dedicated trauma centre in the memory of Uphaar cinema victims, that has not happened yet, but despite that the state government is saying that it has already utilised the funds.”

“This raises serious questions about the implementation, accountability and respect of the highest court’s order,” Krishnamoorthy said.

Almost a decade ago, the Supreme Court ordered the Delhi government to construct a trauma centre in memory of the 59 lives lost in a fire at Uphaar cinema in 1997, using the ₹60 crore penalty levied on realtors Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal.

On July 16, the top court asked the Delhi government to file a status report on how it used the funds. The bench, led by justice Surya Kant, will examine the Delhi government’s response on August 25, when AVUT is also expected to file its reply.

Krishnamoorthy said, “Over the years, we have filled multiple RTIs to find out where the funds have been utilised; we were never given a reply. So now, we are ready to give our befitting reply on August 28 in the Supreme Court. For years we have fought legal battles to bring justice to the Uphaar cinema victims and we will still continue it.”

In multiple RTI queries filed in 2019 and again in 2024, departments, including the Chief Secretary’s office, the health ministry, the law department, and the Directorate General of Health Services, responded saying that the information “is not available” or “does not pertain” to them.

“The state had neither allotted land nor offered any explanation,” said Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, another AVUT member who lost two children in the fire. “This is why we went to the SC again to find out the implementation of the court’s order.”