VIJAYAWADA: Expressing serious concern over the increasing construction activity in Tirumala, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday made it clear that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) should exercise utmost caution regarding the new structures on the hill shrine.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by T Mahesh of Tirupati seeking a direction to the TTD to prevent the illegal constructions in the name of mutts and rest houses, the HC Bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Cheemalapati Ravi, took strong exception to the construction of buildings, and expressed concern over the diminishing forest area. “Necessary steps should be taken to prevent the beautiful Tirumala from becoming a concrete jungle. If the construction activity continues at this rate, the Tirumala forest area will disappear in the near future,” the court opined, adding that it will not allow construction of mutts without proper planning.
Later, it directed the Endowments Department, TTD EO and TTD vigilance officials to file their counters, and posted the matter to May 7.
Petitioner’s counsellor Uday Kumar informed the court that the TTD had failed to initiate action against religious institutions constructing mutts and other buildings without obtaining necessary permissions.