Tough Times for Builders as HMDA Scraps Zonal Offices to Fight Graft

HYDERABAD: To clamp down on corruption in the Town Planning section, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has scrapped all four Zonal Planning Offices in different parts of Rangareddy district with immediate effect.

An order, to this effect, was issued by HMDA Metropolitan Commissioner Shalini Mishra, late on Thursday. In the short-term, the move is likely to create hardships to public as well as developers and builders, who will now have to travel to Tarnaka (HMDA head-office) to obtain building permissions and layout approvals.

HMDA officials claim that shifting of zonal offices to head-offices is to check corruption in HMDA Town Planning section as well as to reduce monthly expenditure of `15 lakh per month incurred in running zonal offices. 

Now, even developers from Medchal, Shamshabad, Ghatkesar and Shankarpally in Rangareddy district will have to come to Tarnaka for building permissions. Interestingly, it was only in 2009, that the HMDA decentralised the zonal offices so that people can get their work done easily.

Earlier, for getting permissions for multi-storied residential complexes and a host of other buildings, builders, developers and individuals had to first get a clearance from zonal offices.

In the absence of monitoring, corruption had grown to rampant proportions in the four zonal offices. Last year, several hundred files relating to building permissions were burnt in Shankerpally and Shamshabad zonal offices.

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The New Indian Express
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