Haryana allows doctors to set up nursing homes on residential plots on 10-year lease
Gurugram: The Haryana government has allowed qualified doctors to set up nursing homes on residential plots taken on lease for at least 10 years. The revised policy permits both allopathic and AYUSH doctors to establish nursing homes in licensed residential colonies, subject to specified conditions.
The move expands an earlier provision under which doctors were required to own the residential plot to establish a nursing home. The revised policy is aimed at making neighbourhood healthcare facilities more accessible.
The revised policy was issued by the Town and Country Planning Department on September 8, following a demand raised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). It permits qualified allopathic and AYUSH doctors to establish nursing homes providing indoor admission and treatment, subject to prescribed conditions.
Doctors seeking permission must hold valid registration with the relevant Medical Council or AYUSH Council, be currently practising and be registered with the local IMA branch. An affidavit confirming these requirements will also have to be submitted.
For leased properties, the permission will remain valid only for the duration of the lease. The minimum lease period has been fixed at 10 years.
The policy also sets minimum plot-size requirements based on the area's potential category. Nursing homes must have at least 350 square yards in hyper- and high-potential zones and 250 square yards in medium- and low-potential zones.
The plots must be located on service roads along sector or master roads. The government has also restricted the number of nursing homes that can be established in a sector. Only one site will be permitted on a service road abutting or running along a sector-dividing road, while a maximum of four nursing-home sites will be allowed in a sector.
The revised provisions will apply only to licensed plotted colonies where internal services have been provided, and a completion or part-completion certificate has been issued. Building plans, including those involving additions or alterations to existing structures, will require approval from the competent authority along with an occupation certificate.
Nursing homes will have to comply with the Haryana Building Code, 2017, including norms governing floor area ratio, setbacks and building height. Stilt parking will be mandatory, and all vehicles, including ambulances, will have to be accommodated within the plot. No front boundary wall will be permitted.
Basements may be used for clinics, X-ray and laboratory facilities, subject to building-code requirements. Commercial activities will not be permitted, except diagnostic services and a pharmacy serving the nursing home's indoor and outdoor patients.
According to ETHealthWorld, the government has fixed conversion charges according to the potential zone, at Rs 10,000 per square yard for hyper-potential areas, Rs 8,000 for high-potential, Rs 6,000 for medium-potential and Rs 4,000 for low-potential zones. No additional charges, including EDC, will be levied.
The policy also requires nursing homes to make arrangements for biomedical waste disposal and effluent management. Health authorities will conduct regular inspections to monitor compliance with the prescribed requirements.
The revised framework is expected to make it easier for eligible doctors to establish smaller inpatient healthcare facilities within residential neighbourhoods while keeping their location, scale, construction and operational requirements under regulatory oversight.
