January 2, 2026: The new hospital building project at Sir JJ Hospital has missed its third deadline, further delaying the handover of critical infrastructure at one of Mumbai’s largest public healthcare institutions. The contractor was required to complete construction and formally hand over the building by December 2025, but the deadline has passed without either completion or an official request for an extension, raising questions over project oversight and accountability.
Hospital authorities said they are yet to receive any formal update on the project status. Dr Ajay Bhadarwar, dean of JJ Hospital, said, “We have not received any communication from the contractor regarding the completion or handover of the project. There has been no official handover of the building to date. We are still waiting for clarity on when the work will be completed.” The continued uncertainty has left hospital administrators unable to plan the expansion of services that were meant to be housed in the new facility.
The Public Works Department (PWD), which is overseeing the project, has also confirmed that no extension request has been submitted. According to officials, the contractor has failed to meet contractual obligations despite multiple reviews. “As per our records, the contractor has neither completed the project within the stipulated time nor sought a formal extension. This is a clear violation of contractual timelines. Our seniors have conducted meetings with him, and a meeting is scheduled next week,” said Shashi Jamdar, junior engineer at the PWD.
While the contractor had sought an extension until March 2026, the PWD directed the firm to finish construction by November 2025 and hand over the building to hospital authorities by December. That instruction has not been complied with, leading to further delays.
The repeated slippage has drawn criticism from the medical community, particularly as Mumbai’s public hospitals continue to operate under pressure. “If these delays hadn’t happened, some load would have been reduced from the already-stretched public healthcare system,” said health activist Dr Jamila Shaikh.
The project has faced setbacks since its inception. The original 36-month contract began on July 21, 2020, with a completion deadline of July 20, 2023. With only 29 per cent of the work completed by early 2025, a 20-month extension was granted till December 2025. The latest missed deadline has now pushed the project into further uncertainty, prolonging the wait for much-needed infrastructure at JJ Hospital.
