‘Medical colleges in state capitals can be highrises’

NEW DELHI: Taking into account the increasing shortage of land in urban areas in New Delhi, the Union health ministry has allowed medical colleges in state capitals to be built as highrises, provided it complies with local regulations.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has made amendments to the Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999, lowering the minimum land requirement for construction of medical colleges in all state and UT capitals.

The total built-up area requirement has been brought down to ten acres from twenty acres.

In 2012, the MCI had relaxed the norms for those urban cities which have a population of 25 lakh or more.

The 12 cities in the category were Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Surat, Greater Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

“Norms have also now been relaxed for capitals where land is an issue. As population is growing, there is scarcity of land, along with the need for more medical colleges. We have to look for effective solutions,” said Dr Reena Nayyar, secretary, MCI.

The minimum requirement for building a medical college in the select cities is the Floor Area Ratio/floor Space Index.

It is the ratio of the total area of a building to the area of the plot on which it is built.

A ministry official, on the condition of anonymity, said “These colleges can expand vertically, provided they adhere to norms.”