New Osmania General Hospital: Telangana HC lets petitioner challenge govt order that allotted land

“I cannot challenge the act of allotment without challenging the GO. It would be playing Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark,” he responded to a query from the bench on why this government order was crucial.

While hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging the construction of a new Osmania General Hospital at Hyderabad’s Goshamahal Stadium, the Telangana High Court on Monday allowed the petitioner to challenge a government order that was allegedly kept away from the public till now.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin also adjourned the matter to be listed after three weeks for further hearing.

Appearing for the petitioner and Goshamahal resident Gundolu Ramu, senior counsel L Ravichander submitted before the court that GO Ms 115, dated November 2, 2024, which is to be added in the prayer, constitutes the basis of the PIL and was not available for the petitioner earlier.

The government order, under which 31.39 acres of government land was allotted for the construction of the new hospital, was denied to the petitioner under the Right To Information (RTI) Act and has now come out in the public only by way of a counter-affidavit filed by the Government, he contended.

The bench noted that the counsel for the Government had stated in their counter-affidavit that the land of the Goshamahal Stadium had been transferred for the hospital construction through GO Ms 115 and agreed that the proposed amendment was in relation to the main prayer in the writ petition.

While the petitioner’s counsel mentioned another interlocutory application to raise additional grounds to the prayer and to bring on record another document to show that the new hospital is being constructed without requisite environmental clearances, the bench said the amendment should first be carried out.

The PIL petition seeks to challenge the construction of the new hospital as the land parcel identified for it is declared in the layout as parkland and open spaces. The petition initially sought the court to set aside GO Ms 45 dated January 30, 2025, which facilitates the transfer of the Goshamahal Stadium and adjoining parcels of land to the the Department of Health, Medical, and Family Welfare, as illegal, unconstitutional, and contrary to the zonal regulations of the master plan 2031 and provisions of the Telangana Urban Areas Development Act 1975, and in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Government has proposed to build a new hospital with a capacity of 2,000 beds at the Goshamahal Stadium at an estimated cost of Rs 2,700 crore. The foundation stone was laid on January 31, 2025, with a target of opening the hospital to the public in two and a half years.