In 2015, the construction of OGH’s new building was stymied in a legal hurdle following a lawsuit brought to the High Court by some. Since then, the issue has remained unresolved and the project has not been launched.
Post Date – 08:00 AM, Tuesday – July 4th
Hyderabad: Despite excessive delays mainly due to legal hurdles surrounding the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) heritage building, the Telangana state government is still keen to build an ultra-modern medical facility in the hospital complex.
In a recent interaction with media personalities, Health Minister T Harish Rao said that the Telangana state government looks forward to addressing the OGH new hospital issue constructively so that the new hospital complex can be developed as early as possible.
The minister pointed out that it was Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao who took the initiative to revive OGH and personally visited the campus and interacted with doctors in July 2015. Harish Rao said that on the same day, the Chief Minister announced the construction of a twin-tower modern hospital complex at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
However, OGH has run into a legal hurdle over the construction of the new building, with a number of suits being brought to the High Court in August 2015. The issue has since been pending in the High Court and the project has failed to get off the ground.
Multiple committees of experts deemed the heritage building unsuitable for occupancy and hospital management evacuated the building and instituted interim arrangements. An independent structural stability study of the OGH heritage building was conducted by a special committee of senior engineers set up by the Telangana state government and another group of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and the State Department of Archaeology concluded that it was not suitable for occupancy.
The Minister of Health hopes that there will be a swift and amicable resolution of the issue between those concerned with the maintenance of heritage structures and those demanding the expansion of the OGH.
A brief history of OGH
OGH was the first tertiary hospital established under Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan. The OGH Heritage building was designed by British architect Vincent Jerome Esch, who also designed the High Court Building and was supervising architect for the building of the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. The Telangana High Court and OGH buildings were designed to mimic the lines of European buildings built along the River Thames in London, adding beauty to the River Mursi. In addition to its architectural beauty, OGH is also known for its landmark achievements in the field of medicine.
‘Commencement of construction of OGH’s new building
Public representatives from various political parties and ministers urged the state government to proceed with the construction of a new building for the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) in a review meeting with State Health Minister T Harish Rao on Monday, Even that requires demolishing existing buildings on the hospital campus.
The Health Minister told the meeting that the unanimous opinion of all public representatives will be submitted to the High Court in an affidavit. He added that construction of the new building would begin immediately once the High Court gives the go-ahead.
The review meeting was attended by Ministers Mahmood Ali and Talassani Srinivas Yadav, MP Assaduddin Owasi, Legislative Council members Prabhakar Rao, Wani De Vi, Rahmat Beg and Hassan Effendi, MPs Akbaruddin Owasi, Danan Nagand, Maganti Gopinath, Jaffar Hussain and Kausar Moinuddin and senior health officials.
