The old building is unfit for any kind of hospital activities and it should be demolished along with other satellite buildings to construct a new structure, the affidavit said.
Due to a space crunch, patients suffer as they are not getting treatment while doctors do have resource to provide treatment.(Supplied)
The Telangana government on Friday, 28 July, said it plans to demolish the old Osmania General Hospital building and other satellite structures to construct a new hospital building.
In an affidavit filed before the high court, the government said the present building was unfit for hospital purposes and should be pulled down along with other structures to provide space for a new building.
The planned building, the affidavit said, would have an area of 35.76 lakh square feet, in compliance with the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), National Building Code of India (NBC), and other guidelines.
Its construction would be taken up subject to the high court’s orders in various public interest litigations pending before it, Health Secretary SAM Rizvi said in the affidavit.
Osmania General Hospital is one of the oldest super-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad. It plays a crucial role in the handling of emergency cases within the city, besides providing medical care to prisoners in need. Additionally, it serves as a referral centre for patients requiring complex surgeries.
However, a significant turning point came in July 2020, when a devastating flood forced the closure of the hospital’s century-old building.
Subsequently, all patients were relocated to the newly constructed Quli Qutb Shah block. However, the new block has limited facilities and a fewer number of beds compared to the hospital’s earlier capacity.
Over time, various organisations filed separate public interest litigations (PILs), requesting the court to order the conservation of the old building and the construction of a new one in the remaining available area.
A surge of patients in June and July laid bare the hospital’s inadequacies. The hospital’s 1,100 beds fell short of demand and patients were accommodated even on the floor. Several were referred to other hospitals.
Subsequently, Health Minister T Harish Rao held a meeting with people’s representatives as well as officials from the Osmania General Hospital, and Roads and Buildings Department.
The old dilapidated, unsafe building was vacated in July 2020 and the beds were arranged in other satellite buildings. “This has led to overcrowding in the satellite buildings on the campus,” hospital Superintendent Dr B Nagender told the meeting.
“The severe space crunch prevented the admission of several patients. Elective procedures have to be postponed at times. Super-specialty and other departments are unable to perform at their optimum levels since they could not be provided with the requisite modern infrastructure due to space constraints,” he further said.
He added that the hospital has been facing difficulty in providing desirable levels of hygiene and sanitation. Overall, the capacity of the hospital was grossly inadequate for the population to be served. Dr Nagender said the hospital required 1,812 beds.
Engineer-in-Chief of the Roads and Buildings Department of the Government of Telangana Ganapathi Reddy said the hospital building should have a built-up area of 2,02,081.78 sq.m (21.75 lakh square feet) as per IPHS standards to accommodate 1,812 beds. According to IPHS, each bed in a teaching hospital should have 100-110 sq.m.
The residential quarters for postgraduate students would need an additional 45,000 sq m (4.84 lakh square feet). “This is important as they need to attend night duties and be present on campus. The standard space is 45 sq m per person,” Reddy said.
Another 54,357.99 sq.m (5.85 lakh square feet) would be necessary for a multi-level parking facility as per GHMC standards. Further, services such as electric sub-station, liquid oxygen tank, mechanised laundry, mortuary, etc., would need another 24,708.18 sq.m (2.66 lakh square feet) space.
“The total area required is 3,32,351.26 sq.m (35.76 lakh sq ft),” the engineer added.
A building with 35.76 lakh sq ft would require 9.30 acres. However, since the building’s footprint should be less than 40 percent of the total area as per the National Building Code, 2016, the total land required would come up to 22.2 acres.
Of the hospital’s 24.417 acres, religious structures have taken up 0.60 acres, a graveyard on 1.286 acres, and a police station on 0.328 acres. After leaving this occupied space, the net area would be 22.203 acres.
“Thus, the available land after the demolition of all buildings, including the old one, will be just sufficient to construct a new building with 1,812 beds,” Reddy explained.
“The paramount objective is to provide the best quality of healthcare facilities to the residents of this part of the city which has high population density. It was also noted that Osmania General Hospital being a super specialty hospital attracts patients from entire South Telangana,” Health Secretary Rizvi said in the affidavit.
“Hence there is an urgent need to take all measures to develop a full-fledged new hospital. Since the old building is situated in the middle of the land parcel, development of an alternative hospital is indeed impossible unless this old building is removed,” he added.
The Healthcare Reforms Doctors’ Association (HRDA), one of the petitioners in the high court, viewed the government affidavit as a positive development since the health department had taken a stand, though half-baked and half-hearted.
“The said affidavit is incomprehensible as it is silent as to the due and mandatory procedure to be followed under regulation 13 of the HMDA Act,” HRDA president Dr K Mahesh Kumar told South First.
Regulation 13 of the Zoning Regulations, 1981, of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) restricted the demolition of “heritage buildings” without the written permission of the Vice-Chairman, HUDA (now, the HMDA commissioner).
Dr Kumar said that the government has to take a policy decision to refer the matter to the Heritage Committee constituted under the HMDA Act to make a legally enforceable decision to demolish the structure, categorised as a heritage building under the HMDA Act.
“The aforesaid policy decision has to be taken by the government which does not require the high court’s permission. If the entire process of demolishing the heritage building is caught in a legal tangle, then the government is free to take a policy decision to allot alternative land for the construction of the new building. This also does not require any sanction or permission from the high court,” he said.
HRDA urged the government to follow the law and procedure in demolishing the heritage building or come up with necessary documents if it has plans to shift the hospital to a new location.
Meanwhile, heritage conservationists emphasised that the structure was well protected under the Heritage Act, and it was premature to make any conclusions based on the government’s affidavit.
“The high court will consider all relevant aspects. Several other buildings also enjoy similar protection under the same category,” Satyam Reddy, the advocate representing the conservationists told South First.
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