Rohtak: PGIMS Under Pressure, 246 Illegal Concrete Plants Flagged, IIM Governance Queried
Rohtak made news across healthcare, environment, and governance this week. The city's flagship public hospital strengthened its patient redressal systems amid unusually high outpatient volumes, while the National Green Tribunal learned of 246 ready-mix concrete plants in the area operating without government clearance. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India also flagged a Rs 3.20 crore variable pay disbursement to IIM Rohtak's director as an irregularly processed retrospective payment.
PGIMS Steps Up Grievance Redressal Amid Heavy OPD Rush
Pt. B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak, the primary public healthcare referral institution for much of Haryana, has launched enhanced grievance redressal mechanisms in response to relentless pressure on its outpatient department. The Tribune reports that PGIMS has been experiencing unusually high OPD footfall, stretching staff and diagnostic capacity across multiple specialities. Hospital administration has responded by formalising complaint-handling processes, improving inter-department coordination, and deploying additional staff at patient-facing touchpoints to reduce wait times and address systemic delays. PGIMS serves a vast catchment area spanning Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh, drawing patients who lack access to specialist care closer to home. The current surge is attributed to seasonal monsoon-related illness patterns, a growing burden of chronic disease, and the hospital's enduring reputation for affordable specialist treatment unavailable at district hospitals. Healthcare advocates have long argued that PGIMS requires sustained capital investment in beds, equipment, and faculty to match its catchment area's growing population, and the current grievance initiative is seen as a necessary but insufficient response to structural capacity constraints. [2]
246 Ready-Mix Concrete Plants Running Without Permits, NGT Told
The National Green Tribunal has been informed that 246 ready-mix concrete plants operating in the Rohtak area lack mandatory government approvals and environmental clearances, raising serious concerns about unregulated dust pollution, groundwater contamination, and unchecked industrial encroachment. Hindustan Times reports that the disclosure was placed before the tribunal as part of its ongoing scrutiny of construction-sector regulatory compliance in Haryana. Ready-mix concrete plants generate substantial quantities of cement dust and particulate matter, and their proliferation without environmental oversight poses documented risks to air quality, soil health, and the respiratory health of nearby communities. The revelations are particularly significant given Rohtak's location in the Delhi-NCR airshed, which already battles severe pollution during winter inversion periods. The NGT was expected to direct state authorities to conduct immediate inspections and order closures or expedited regularisation of non-compliant units. Environmental observers note that the scale of the violation — nearly 250 plants — suggests systemic regulatory failure rather than isolated non-compliance, pointing to inadequate monitoring by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and weak enforcement at the district level. [3]
CAG Flags Rs 3.20 Crore Retrospective Variable Pay at IIM Rohtak
India's Comptroller and Auditor General has flagged a significant governance irregularity at IIM Rohtak, questioning a Rs 3.20 crore variable pay disbursement made to the institute's director on a retrospective basis without proper authorisation at the time. ThePrint reports that the CAG audit finding characterises the payment as having been made outside established procedures, raising accountability concerns about how executive compensation decisions are processed at the autonomous management institute. Variable pay structures at IIMs have periodically drawn scrutiny from government auditors, who apply public sector accountability frameworks to institutions that receive substantial government grants while operating under a degree of institutional autonomy. The Ministry of Education and IIM Rohtak's Board of Governors are expected to review internal compensation approval processes in response to the audit findings. IIM Rohtak has grown steadily as a destination for management aspirants, with its IPMAT programme attracting students directly from Class 12 — as highlighted this week by an inspiring student success story in Physics Wallah media. The CAG episode is unlikely to disrupt academic operations but underlines the governance challenges that arise when public-funded institutions navigate the boundary between autonomy and accountability. [8]
Sources: [2] The Tribune · [3] Hindustan Times · [8] ThePrint