The photograph of a building dangerously poised on a storm water drain was circulated in social media groups a week ago. The five-storeyed building was under construction at Old Alwal, apparently in violation of a total of 11 building norms. It had no building permission, violated all the norms pertaining to set back spaces, and encroached upon the storm water drain.
“We did issue notices to the owner, but he went to court and obtained a stay,” a highly-placed Town Planning official informed.
Rani Singh (name changed), a resident of Jubilee Hills, sold part of her land, where the purchaser began construction without leaving any setback spaces. When the construction material started falling into her premises, Ms. Singh approached the authorities seeking action.
After receiving notices from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the builder went to court and obtained a stay order. The stay was subsequently vacated upon appeal by the GHMC’s counsel. Even before action was initiated against the structure, the builder approached Lokayukta, and got a stay till December 22.
“The builder is continuing the work, and before you know, the construction will be finished. There will be no action,” Ms. Singh fumed.
The stay order, which seeks to enforce status quo, applies to the builder too, as much as it applies to the GHMC. Any violation could be reported to the court and a vacation on the stay may be obtained. However, it is never done with the alacrity needed in such a situation.
While there is no actionable and effective solution with the GHMC for unauthorised structures in the city, election season has come in handy for violators as they increase the pace of construction while nobody watches.
“A three-storeyed building was constructed for a long time in our vicinity. They installed a fire escape violating the setback norms. Recently, taking cover under the elections, they inaugurated a hospital in the premises, without the mandatory parking space. Complaints to the officials have gone unheeded,” said Ch. Hanumanth Rao, a resident of RTC Colony at Chintalkunta.
Section officers and Assistant City Planners of the Town Planning wing have all been deployed on election duties, and there is nobody even to serve notices on the violators.
Though GHMC officials take cover under the pretext that the violators get stay orders from the court, the fact is that the illegal structures are condoned till they reach an advanced stage of construction. Demolitions taken up at the foundation stage would act as a deterrent, which is hardly ever done.
No action
The GHMC had set up zonal level special task forces more than two years ago to deal stringently with unauthorised structures in the city and take up demolitions. Engineers recruited from the National Academy of Construction were deployed to observe deviations and report, on which action would be taken by the task forces reporting to the zonal commissioner. Since their establishment, neither the zonal commissioners nor the task forces have done much on this front.
“This gives ample time for the violator to approach the court. A lot of delay takes place even in getting the stays vacated,” said the official.
