HC will hear the OGH building issue on Feb 12

Hyderabad: The state government on Tuesday conveyed its commitment to construct a new facility for the Osmania General Hospital within its existing premises to the Telangana High Court.

During the hearing before the division bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, Advocate-General A. Sudarshan Reddy said the Osmania General Hospital, a 1,000-bed facility, required expansion to accommodate a total of 1,800 beds in view of the requirement of the public.

Given the hospital's status as a teaching college, the state government has already allocated necessary funds for the construction of a new building to accommodate the hospital.

Reddy also informed the court that two committees, comprising experts from IIT Hyderabad and the Archaeological Survey of India, had submitted reports concluding that the current building housing the Osmania General Hospital was structurally unsound and recommended the construction of a new building.

The Advocate-General made these submissions during the hearing of a batch of petitions and PILs with conflicting requests. While one side advocated demolition of the old OGH building and constructing a new building, opponents sought court directives to prevent the demolition of the heritage structure.

Senior counsel Nalini Kumar, opposing the government's contention, argued that their clients are not against the construction of new structures but they objected to demolition of the building with heritage status. The court, however, said that the case will be heard on February 12, when the court will decide on the matter.