Medical colleges can now be built as high-rises: Govt
NEW DELHI: As the population is growing, there is scarcity of land along with a need for more medical colleges. We have to look for effective solutions
DR REENA NAYYAR, MCI secretary We had made amendments, such as making it 20 acres from 25 acres These colleges can expand vertically provided they follow regulations
Considering the increasing shortage of land shortage in urban areas, the Union health ministry has given its nod to a proposal to allow new medical colleges to be built as highrises as long as they comply with local building laws.
The Medical Council of India made amendments to “Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999,” to lower the minimum land requirement for medical colleges from 20 acres to 10 acres for all state and Union Territory capitals.
In 2012, the MCI had relaxed norms for urban cities with a population of 2.5 million or more that included 12 cities - Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Surat, Greater Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.
“Along with the 12 cities, norms have been relaxed for all the state and UT capitals where the availability of land is an issue. As the population is growing, there is scarcity of land along with a need for more medical colleges. We have to look for effective solutions,” said Dr Reena Nayyar, secretary, MCI.
The minimum requirement for building a college for the 12 metros and state capitals now is Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/ Floor Space Index (FSI). The FAR/FSI is the ratio of the total area of a Health ministry official
building to the area of the plot on which it is built. It tends to vary from city to city as it is determined by the local authorities.
“We had made occasional amendments, such as making it 20 acres from 25 acres and last year we even did away with that making only FAR the requirement for building a medical college. These colleges can expand vertically provided they follow local regulations,” said a senior health ministry official, requesting anonymity.