Centre eases hospital height restrictions, allows taller buildings with fire safety protocols

New Delhi: In a major regulatory reform aimed at improving healthcare accessibility in urban India, the Centre has relaxed height restrictions for hospitals, allowing vertical expansion beyond the earlier 45-metre cap, provided enhanced fire safety protocols are implemented.

The decision follows the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) notification of the new National Building Construction Standards 2026, which replaces the earlier National Building Code. The revised framework relaxes height restrictions for hospitals and intensive care units, while mandating stricter fire safety provisions.

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Welcoming the amendments, Dr Sangita Reddy, Group MD, Apollo Hospitals and President, NATHEALTH, said, “The new rules mark a timely step towards enabling future-ready healthcare infrastructure in India. By unlocking much-needed capacity across the healthcare ecosystem, it will enable hospitals to operate more efficiently and optimise cost benefits that can ultimately be passed on to patients,” reports Economic Times.

Speaking to TNIE, Varun Khanna, Vice President, NATHEALTH and Group Managing Director, Quality Care India Ltd, said, “Addressing structural constraints has long been a core priority to the evolution of India’s healthcare system.” “This reform has the potential to unlock capacity in a far more efficient manner, enabling hospitals to expand without proportionate increases in capital expenditure by optimally leveraging existing infrastructure, following safety standards. More importantly, strengthening healthcare infrastructure is not just a sectoral priority - it is an economic imperative. The ability to deliver timely, high-quality care at scale has a direct bearing on health outcomes, workforce productivity, and the broader resilience of the economy,” he added.

Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, added that land and construction costs remain a significant component of the overall investment required to build a hospital. He said the ability to expand vertically will help address capacity gaps in high-density urban centres while avoiding the long gestation periods associated with new hospital developments.

According to NATHEALTH, the policy change will allow hospitals to better utilise existing land parcels, improve operational efficiency, and reduce dependence on new greenfield projects, which are often capital-intensive and time-consuming.

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