In a crucial development, A Sudarshan Reddy, advocate general of Telangana, informed the division bench, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, that there is an urgent need to expand Osmania General Hospital (OGH) from its current 1,000-bed capacity to a 1,800-bed facility.
The hospital, which also serves as a teaching college, has received state sanction for the funds required for the construction of a new building to facilitate expansion.
According to the AG, two expert committees, constituted by the state government — namely, IIT Hyderabad and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) — have submitted reports underlining the dilapidated condition of the existing OGH building. Both committees have strongly recommended the construction of a new building to replace the aging structure.
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However, during the proceedings, it was revealed by a counsel in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) that the expert committees, while favouring the state government’s stand, did not recommend the demolition of the old building. Instead, they recommended the construction of a new structure.
The counsel representing the petitioners expressed concern over the preservation of a part of OGH that holds a heritage significance. “The Osmania General Hospital is a crucial healthcare institution, and we are not against the construction of a new building to house it. However, the heritage portion of OGH must be protected,” argued the counsel for the petitioners.
The division bench, in response, was adjudicating a series of PILs filed by Osmania Medical College Alumni, advocates, NGOs, and other parties concerned. These petitioners sought directions from the state government to construct a new multi-storied building for OGH, equipped with super-specialty hospital facilities, at the existing site measuring approximately 26 acres in Afzal Gunj, Hyderabad.
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