HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will allocate `500 crore each to the newly formed Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations to support day-to-day administration and development works.
The decision was approved at the first standing committee meeting following the GHMC reorganisation, chaired by Jayesh Ranjan, the special officer for the three municipal corporations at the GHMC head office.
GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan and senior officials attended the meeting.
Following the trifurcation, a task force under the Centre for Good Governance has been constituted to allocate assets, liabilities and manpower among the three corporations. The task force will study existing agreements and submit recommendations within 10 days, Ranjan, who is also Municipal Administration and Urban Development department special chief secretary, said.
He said administrative efficiency could yield visible results in a short period and that six months would be sufficient to see improvements in urban governance. Officials were asked to treat the next six months as a key working season and prioritise completion of SRDP, SNDP and H-City projects, along with ensuring pothole-free roads and adequate street lighting.
Referring to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s focus on governance in the Core Urban Region (CURE), Ranjan said officials should leverage government support and work under the leadership of Karnan to deliver outcomes at the grassroots.
Earlier, Karnan reviewed sanitation, waste management, dumping yard alternatives, infrastructure and road safety. To boost sanitation, competitions will be held among the three corporations, with certificates and incentives for officials, NGOs and individuals.
HC UPHOLDS DEMOLITION ACTION, ORDERS CITYWIDE REMOVAL OF ENCROACHMENTS
Hyderabad: Justice NV Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court on Thursday rejected a writ petition challenging demolition proceedings initiated by GHMC against alleged unauthorised constructions in Bagh Lingampally and directed strict enforcement of anti-encroachment measures across Hyderabad.
The petition was filed by S Indumathi, who sought to quash GHMC proceedings directing removal of unauthorised commercial constructions within 15 days, failing which demolition was proposed. She claimed there were no illegal constructions and said property tax had been paid for residential-cum-commercial use.
GHMC submitted that a complaint revealed unauthorised extensions encroaching upon common areas and footpaths. After issuing a show-cause notice and examining the explanation, the deputy commissioner found that the plinth area had increased from 700 sq ft to 1,052 sq ft, with parts being used commercially. Relying on the SC judgments, the judge held that unauthorised constructions and encroachments on public footpaths cannot be regularised.
He observed that payment of property tax does not legalise illegal structures and that such encroachments push pedestrians onto roads, posing safety risks. Finding no grounds for interference, the court dismissed the writ petition and directed GHMC to proceed in accordance with law.
The directions were extended to similar encroachments across the city, with instructions to restore footpaths and initiate inquiries against officials for failure to comply with orders. The GHMC commissioner has been directed to file a compliance report before the Registry within three months.