HYDERABAD: For the residents of Malakpet and Saidabad, the old government quarters spread across hundreds of acres have not only been the lung spaces but also the source for collecting fruits, flowers, leaves and other plants during festive occasions. This could change forever, as the work for the construction of a mega IT tower in 10.35 acres has begun.
Though the infrastructure creation to create IT jobs has been well-intended, disposal of the construction waste generated after the demolition of the old quarters and the conservation of trees as old as 50 and 100 years in the process raise serious concerns.
The contractor has begun working on the demolition and has been given a month to complete the job. Machinery like JCBs has been pressed into service and demolition work has been going on in full swing.
According to Khaja Moinuddion, a representative of the contracting company engaged in the work, tippers (trucks) carry the debris out of the area. However, he said that he doesn’t know where the debris is being dumped.
However, a worker at the site told TNIE that the debris was being dumped in the tanks located in the city, which could mean encroachment of city lakes, which has become the modus operandi of land sharks to grab and construct houses in the FTL of the tanks.
The government quarters which were constructed in the 1980s, have been lying deserted as government has constructed apartments for housing the government employees. Except for some government and NGO offices, and some people still living in those houses using the help of local politicians, most of the houses are unoccupied.
Rich biodiversity has been the signature characteristic of these quarters, as the residents for decades, have grown and maintained it while staying in these quarters.
Though huge trees could be seen still standing in the demolition area, questions are being raised on what has been saved and what couldn’t, unless a stock-taking of the trees is taken before demolition, and steps taken to either let the trees survive there, or be translocated to some other place.
“Under the Water Land and Trees Act (WALTA), the local MRO is empowered to protect trees and water bodies. The MRO can conduct a tree census of that area which is rich in biodiversity, number the trees and geo tag them, and then impose a moratorium on felling them,” opined Dr Lubna Sarwath, an environmental activist who has been relentlessly working to protect urban water bodies.
The construction of the IT Park with 16 floors, is going to happen in 20 lakh square feet area located right behind PVR Mall located close to Malakpet police station, under the aegis of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (TSIIC).