HYDERABAD: Three labourers died while three others sustained grievous injuries after a parapet wall collapsed at a construction site in Addagutta, Kukatpally Housing Board (KPHB) Colony, in the city on Thursday morning.
Residents alleged that the mishap was a result of inadequate supervision and negligence by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s Town Planning wing. It was found that the building owner was engaged in unauthorised construction of a sixth floor. Meanwhile, the civic authorities have initiated the demolition of the unauthorised sixth floor and issued a show-cause notice to the owner.
This tragedy might have been prevented if the Town Planning wing officials had monitored the works and stopped illegal construction of the sixth floor, residents said. Of the three deceased, two of them have been identified as Santhu Badnayak, a 23-year-old from Bihar, and Saniya Challan, 19.
The injured persons — Balaram Badnayak, Soniya Badnayak, and Budha Badnayak, all hailing from Malkangiri in Odisha — were shifted to a private hospital for treatment. A case under Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the builder.
The GHMC had originally granted permission for construction up to five floors, but the owner proceeded with the sixth floor without proper authorisation, official sources said. Senior officials have frequently asserted that Town Planning authorities would conduct inspections at various construction stages, including during the planning phase, to ensure adherence to sanctioned building permissions.
Any violations or deviations should prompt immediate action from the relevant authorities, said residents, adding that effective action has been lacking in this regard. With the implementation of the Telangana State Building Permissions and Self Certification System, the process of issuing building permits has been streamlined. Task forces have been established to monitor violations.
However, the zonal-level task forces have not disclosed information regarding inspections conducted thus far. In the GHMC, specialised software was developed to identify illegal constructions, deviations, issued notices, court cases and more. It was intended to be effectively implemented, remaining a mere formality on paper, said residents.