Telangana decides against razing iconic Osmania hospital building
The Telangana government has decided against demolishing the century-old edifice of Osmania General Hospital situated on the banks of the Musi river in the old city of Hyderabad
The Telangana government has decided against demolishing the century-old edifice of Osmania General Hospital (OGH) situated on the banks of the Musi river in the old city of Hyderabad, much to the relief of heritage conservationists.

Chief minister A Revanth Reddy, at a high-level official meeting on August 27, announced that the historic OGH building will be preserved as a heritage structure, taking a contrary view to the decision of the previous K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government to demolish the entire structure claiming it has outlived its utility and is in a dilapidated condition.
“We shall transform the historic monument of the OGH into a tourist spot as part of Musi Riverfront Development Project, which can attract tourists from all parts of the world,” Reddy said.
He, however, announced the present hospital being operated in the OGH building will be shifted to Goshamahal grounds, about two kilometres away. “We shall build a new ultramodern hospital with a futuristic approach keeping in view the needs for the next 50 years,” the CM said.
He also instructed officials to finalise an action plan for the construction of the new hospital building. A 32-acre land at the police stadium and police sports complex in Goshamahal is available for a new hospital. Reddy asked the authorities to immediately transfer the land, currently in the possession of the police department, to the medical and health department.
The CM also proposed that the academic blocks, hostels for nursing staff and other departments of OGH be located in the same complex.
Welcoming the decision to retain the historic structure of OGH, convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) P Anuradha Reddy suggested the government should create a green space around the present OGH building, after taking steps to restore its old glory.
“In fact, when the OGH was constructed by the Nizams, it had a lot of open area around it with lush green trees and gardens. There was a proper drainage system underneath the structure. But over a period of time, lot of buildings in the name of hostels and additional hospital blocks have come up, making it a grey area,” she added.
Mohammad Safiullah, founder of Deccan Heritage Trust, said the OHG building, after being given a facelift, should be used for the same purpose for which it was built, rather than a mere monument. “For instance, the building can be used as a research centre for promoting Indian medicine like Ayurveda and Unani,” he added.
Oldest hospital
Osmania General Hospital is one of the oldest and largest hospitals in India and was built during the Nizam rule. It was originally started as the Afzal Gunj hospital in 1866 by Salar Jung-I, the then prime minister of Hyderabad during the rule of sixth Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan.
The present hospital building was constructed on a 1.5-acre in an area sprawling 26.5 acres by the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1919. In 1926, all wards of the Afzal Gunj hospital were transferred to the new building.
Over the years, the OGH building had borne the brunt of neglect, including lack of periodical renovation and maintenance, resulting in incidents of falling roof, seepage of drainage and rainwater into the building.
Opposition to demolition proposal
On July 23, 2015, then chief minster KCR visited OGH building and expressed concern over the safety of the patients in the dilapidated structure. He announced a plan to demolish the building to build an ultra-modern hospital complex in its place.
This sparked strong protests from heritage activists and conservationists, who moved the Telangana high court in the same month seeking a stay on the proposal. Following a direction from the court, the BRS government on March 10, 2022 constituted an experts’ committee to study the structural stability of the OGH building.
The committee recommended that the condition of the hospital building is not safe for use in its present condition and cannot be used for hospital purposes at all. “However, the structure can be repaired and renovated so as to increase the life of the building and can be put to use after taking up repair works for non-hospital purposes,” it said.
Anuradha Reddy, who was part of the committee, said, “We told the government that the heritage structure is structurally safe and if conserved properly, it can be maintained for some more decades.”
In July 2020, the state government ordered closure of the OGH building that was inundated with rain and sewerage water and all the patients were shifted to the other two buildings of the OGH. The old building is now being used as a pathway for doctors to access the parking lot.
On July 27, 2023, the BRS government informed the high court that it would demolish the heritage structure and its adjoining buildings to construct an ultra-modern, multi-storey, 1,812-bed hospital on the 22-acre land. It also said the old building of the OGH is unfit for any kind of patient care and hence, it has to be demolished along with other satellite buildings for development of alternative hospital building.
While the issue was pending in the high court, the BRS lost power in the Telugu state in November last year. The present Congress government has decided against the demolition of the heritage OGH building.
While in the opposition, Revanth Reddy had vehemently opposed the proposed move of the BRS government. In its election manifesto during the last year’s assembly elections, the Congress made a promise that OGH will not be demolished but restored as a heritage structure.
Two months after the Congress came to power, a group of heritage conservation activists under the banner of OGH Conservation Group submitted a memorandum to Reddy to preserve the existing century-old heritage building.
Heritage activists also appealed the state government to withdraw the affidavit submitted in the high court by the previous government defending the need to demolish the historic structure of OGH.
“Such monuments reflect Telangana’s past and present cultural history. The government should follow the advice given by institutions like Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), for examining the heritage structure,” noted historian Sajjad Shaid said.
Another heritage activist Asif Haneef pointed out that when other century-old structures such as Chowmahalla Palace and Falaknuma Palace were being protected, the OGH building can also be conserved in a similar manner. He suggested the OHG heritage block be converted into a tourist destination and use the revenue from visitors for its maintenance.
The hospital structure is graded as “II-B Heritage Building” in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Association (HMDA) listing and is protected under the Heritage Regulations of HMDA.
