Telangana government likely to take a call on new OGH building in a fortnight

Hyderabad: The State government is likely to take a favourable decision on the construction of Osmania General Hospital within a fortnight as authorities have decided to submit an affidavit in the High Court and a verdict is expected within two weeks.

Health Minister T Harish Rao on Monday met MLAs of the constituencies which are near the hospital. The public representatives expressed unanimous support for the construction of a new OGH building. The meeting focused on addressing the pressing healthcare requirements of people, even if it meant demolishing the existing structures.

Rao assured the government would thoroughly examine the opinion expressed in the meeting and promptly submit an affidavit to HC, informing them of the decision. Once the court grants permission, construction of new building will commence without delay.

Expressing government’s sincerity in constructing a new facility for Osmania, Rao recalled Chief Minister KCR’s visit to the hospital in 2015 when he ordered construction of a modern facility. However, the process faced a setback when the HC granted a stay order due to objections raised against demolishing the existing structure.

An expert committee from the Archaeology department of IIT Hyderabad, appointed by the HC, supported the need for a new structure by declaring that the current building does not meet the functional requirements of the hospital. The minister expressed satisfaction as all public representatives unanimously agreed to construction of new building.

Earlier in the day, the Joint Association Committee for Osmania General Hospital had met the minister to know the status of the hospital building. He reportedly told the JAC members that the government was going to submit the final affidavit which the court had sought within seven days, as due process of claims and counterclaims are already over in the court. He expected the court would deliver the verdict within two weeks; Rao assured that the very next day itself he would issue a GO for construction of the new building. After this, the JAC decided to withhold both rally and peaceful protest for a week, saying ‘we will give an update on further plans regarding the issue of new building for Osmania general hospital after one week’.