HYDERABAD: Counsels appearing for petitioners in the Errum Manzil case said that the State government needed to follow the due process of law with respect to the demolition of buildings, particularly heritage structures. "Courts have the power to direct the government against demolishing buildings which are rich in heritage and blended with culture and tradition," they told the High Court.
Senior counsel Nirup Reddy, appearing for Hyderabad Zindabad NGO, represented by senior journalist Pasham Yadagiri, challenging the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017, told the court that the State government had intentionally not recognized Errum Manzil under the Telangana Heritage Act though it was notified under the HMDA Act.
It was the duty of the government to protect buildings with a rich heritage, he said. He termed the government's decision of deleting Regulation No. 13 from the TS Heritage (Protection, Preservation, Conservation & Maintenance) Act, 2017 as 'malicious'.
The senior counsel made these submissions before the division bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Shameem Akther, dealing with batch PILs filed against the State government's decision to demolish Errum Manzil and to construct a new legislature complex in its place.