‘A public health necessity’: Supreme Court panel nod for OPD block at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

Project to come up at Morphological Ridge in Rajinder Nagar

New Delhi | September 13, 2025 05:21 AM IST

3 min read

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The panel also recommended that the hospital trust deposit 5% of the project cost into the Ridge Management Board Fund, in line with its earlier orders.

An Outpatient Department (OPD) block with consultation zones, diagnostic units, and larger waiting halls is on the cards at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital after a report by the Supreme Court-enabled Central Empowered Committee (CEC), dated September 8, described the project — which will be built at a Morphological Ridge in Rajinder Nagar — as a “public health necessity” and as “environmentally non-intrusive.”

The CEC has stressed that no trees will be felled during the proposed construction. The SC panel also imposed safeguards — including the plantation of 100 indigenous saplings and directed that the hospital trust contribute 5% of the project cost towards ridge conservation.

A Morphological Ridge is an area that has ridge-like features typical of the Aravallis and has ecological significance but lies outside the notified ridge forest land.

CEC’s directives align with the Supreme Court’s February 2023 order, which affirmed that land with similar ecological features as the ridge should receive equivalent protection.

During its site inspection on August 25, the committee found that while branches of trees from the adjoining ridge forest extended into the premises, no trees stood in the areas marked for construction.

The CEC report, dated September 8, stressed that the expansion was intended to ease overcrowding, strengthen infection control measures, provide dignified waiting areas, and improve access to specialist care for the patients. It noted that the project would support preventive and community health programmes. “During the visit, it was revealed that the proposed expansion is a public health necessity…the project will further consolidate the hospital’s role as an essential part of Delhi’s public health infrastructure,” the committee said.

The CEC has clarified that the proposed construction, spread over 0.347 hectares, would be confined entirely within the developed hospital premises. “The proposed construction is environmentally non-intrusive, and no ecological features of the ridge will be disturbed,” it said, adding that the design complied with green building norms and urban planning guidelines.

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According to submissions made by the Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society, the hospital currently handles over 3,000 outpatients daily and its existing OPD facilities are overburdened. The trust added that the new block would help decongest patient traffic, offer specialised consultation zones, and ensure equitable, safe, as well as dignified care for patients coming from diverse economic backgrounds.

To balance the public health requirement with ecological safeguards, the SC panel directed the hospital trust to plant 100 indigenous saplings of 10-12 feet in height within vacant portions of the campus and ensure their upkeep.

The panel also recommended that the hospital trust deposit 5% of the project cost into the Ridge Management Board Fund, in line with its earlier orders.

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