OGH building need not be demolished, AG tells Telangana HC

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday instructed the State to provide copies of the report submitted by a committee constituted by the state government after studying the structural ability of the building of the Osmania General Hospital, to all the parties concerned.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Nanda said that the parties concerned should read the report and return on August 25 to help the court. The Bench heard a batch of PILs filed seeking a direction to the State government to construct a new building to house the OGH as most of the blocks in the hospital are in a dilapidated condition while another batch of PILs sought protection of the heritage structure.

The State government formed a committee to study the structural stability of the OGH building (inpatient block) as directed by the High Cour. The committee assessed the structural stability of the building and presented the report to the Chief Justice.

Advocate General BS Prasad provided a copy of the report to the court and explained the conclusions. According to the Committee’s findings, “the OGH building is not safe for use in its current condition and cannot be used as a hospital.” 

The Chief Justice inquired as to why the government was not considering erecting a new structure in the open space, leaving the existing building intact, to which the AG replied that a new building may be constructed in the open area.

The construction of the new building in an open area can be undertaken in the public interest, AG argued before the Court. Counsel for one of the petitioners, Chikkudu Prabhakar, asked the court to keep the OGH from being demolished.