Telangana government to demolish Osmania Hospital buildings including the century-old heritage block

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to demolish all buildings, including the century-old heritage block, within the historic Osmania General Hospital campus to make way for a modern hospital with a total area of 35.76 lakh sq. feet to accommodate 1,812 beds. This decision was shared in an affidavit submitted to the Telangana High Court in response to several public interest litigations, one of which demanded a new facility while preserving the heritage block built in 1926.

According to the affidavit dated July 27, the Health Secretary stated that the new hospital requires 1,812 beds to handle the patient load. Based on the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), teaching hospitals need 100 to 110 sq.m per bed, requiring a total built-up area of 21.75 lakh sq. feet. Additionally, there is a need for a 4.84 lakh sq. feet area for residential quarters for postgraduate students, 5.85 lakh sq. feet area for multilevel parking, and 2.66 lakh sq. feet area for other services like oxygen tanks, electric substations, mortuary, and mechanized laundry.

Since the total area required is 35.76 lakh sq. feet, equivalent to 9.30 acres, and it must be less than 40% of the total available area as per the National Building Code, 2016, the required land comes to 22.2 acres. Considering the religious structures, graveyard, and police station on the campus, the net available land is also 22.2 acres. Therefore, the redevelopment of the old building is deemed impossible without demolishing it. The government reached a consensus that keeping the old building, unfit for a hospital, would compromise the quality of healthcare services.

The Osmania General Hospital, originally established in 1866 as Afzalgunj Hospital, moved to its current 24-acre premises in 1926. The heritage block, which housed 400 beds, was vacated after floodwater and sewage entered the hospital during heavy rain in 2020, reducing the total bed capacity to 1,100.

Doctors at the hospital have been urging the government to expedite the process of building a new hospital due to overcrowding, hygiene and sanitation issues, and infrastructural constraints affecting patient care. The government previously planned to construct a modern twin-tower hospital, but multiple PILs filed between 2015 and 2020 halted the project. The Court, after reviewing a committee’s findings that the building was unsafe for hospital purposes, requested the government to present a comprehensive proposal after consulting experts and public representatives. The committee suggested that the heritage block could be repaired and restored for non-hospital purposes.

The Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA), a group of doctors advocating for the demolition of all buildings, including the heritage block, to build a modern hospital, expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s decision, stating that it lacks clarity on the due procedure regarding the heritage block. They urged the government to take a policy decision and refer the matter to the heritage committee under the HMDA Act to legally enforce the decision to demolish the Osmania General Hospital. The HRDA suggested that the government could allocate alternate land for constructing a new building in such a scenario, sharing the budget, blueprint, and time frame for completion.