Medical college at St George Hospital stalled over heritage rules, space constraints

Hindustan Times

03-05-2025

Mumbai: When the state government announced in 2021 that a new medical college would be established at St George Hospital near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), it envisaged significant improvements in access to medical training and healthcare for south Mumbai residents. But four years on, the project remains stalled owing to height restrictions on buildings in the area and the lack of space for expansion within the hospital premises.
As per National Medical Council (NMC) guidelines, a postgraduate medical college must be attached to a hospital with at least 650 beds and it must have 15,000 square metres of floor space, whereas St George Hospital has 500 beds.
The shortfall can only be bridged via vertical expansion, where multiple one- and two-storey standalone buildings in the premises will be replaced by a 10 or 12-storey structure, Dr Vinayak Sawardekar, superintendent of St George Hospital, told Hindustan Times. 'But because of the hospital's proximity to CSMT, such construction is prohibited,' he said.
Additionally, the hospital is located on a plot classified as a reserve garden (RG) in the development plan. This has further complicated matters and posed a question mark over the fate of the proposed medical college.
South Mumbai's need
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) currently operates four medical colleges in the city — KEM in Parel, Nair in Mumbai Central, Sion Hospital in Sion, and Cooper Hospital in Juhu — whose combined intake capacity is 850 MBBS students. The state government-run JJ Hospital in Byculla, the only major teaching hospital located in south Mumbai, caters to another 250 MBBS students.
Establishing a medical college at St George Hospital would reduce the burden on these institutions and significantly improve access to medical training and care for residents of south Mumbai, said doctors and hospital officials.
'The hospital currently operates with 500 beds, and the upgrade would have enabled the addition of key specialty departments like hepatology, nephrology and plastic surgery,' an official from St George Hospital told HT.
After the state government mooted the proposal to start a medical college at St George Hospital, under the auspices of Grant Medical College, the Asian Development Bank evinced interest in funding the project. But things did not move ahead due to lack of regulatory clearances.
Obstacles for expansion
St George Hospital is located barely five metres from CSMT, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the public works department has restricted the height of buildings in the area to 25 metres, equivalent to only seven storeys.
'We can only permit construction up to 25 meters. A building with 10-12 floors is not feasible under existing heritage norms,' an official from the public works department told HT.
Moreover, the hospital is located on a plot classified as a reserve garden (RG). As per regulations, any construction on land reserved for a garden must be balanced by preserving an equivalent green area within the same premises, and trees aged 90 years or more must be replanted within the same premises.
But the hospital has no space to meet either of these requirements. 'Once we build vertically, we won't even have space to replant the trees,' said Dr Sawardekar.
Hope floats
Doctors at St George expressed frustration with the stalling of the proposal to start a medical college yet remained hopeful.
'If BMC's heritage department shows some flexibility, we can still move forward. This facility is urgently needed – not just for education, but for improved patient care in south Mumbai,' said a doctor at the hospital, requesting anonymity.
Doctors at the hospital cited the example of the nearby Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) Hospital, which has seen a sharp rise in patient admissions since it was converted into a medical college in 2024. Following the launch of a dedicated emergency ward at GT Hospital in July 2024, daily emergency cases have surged from 300–400 to 600–700 and no patients are turned away, thanks to improved infrastructure and staffing.
'The surge clearly shows the urgent need for more specialised hospitals in south Mumbai,' a senior official at JJ Hospital told HT. 'Without adequate facilities nearby, critical patients are referred to distant hospitals—delaying treatment and risking lives.'
Healthcare experts said a balanced approach was necessary to preserve the city's heritage while meeting urgent public health needs. 'We must find a way to protect our history while also building for our future,' said a senior official.