HYDERABAD: Stating that the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017 was “horribly drafted”, a division bench of the high court on Tuesday pulled up the State government for contradictory statements in the preamble of the Act.
On one hand, the government says the new Act was brought in to protect the monuments outside HMDA limits, but it repealed Regulation 13, which gives protection to heritage structures under the HMDA Act. The government also says the new Act covers the entire State, the bench pointed out.
“The contents of the new Act are blowing hot and cold. There is horrible drafting of the Act. Under the new enactment, there is no protection to those structures which fall under Regulation 13. You never argued that Section 6 of the General Clauses Act is inapplicable to the heritage monuments in the city”, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Shameem Akther, told the additional advocate general.
The bench made these remarks while dealing with a batch of PILs challenging the government’s decision to demolish Errum Manzil, a heritage structure in Hyderabad, and construct a new State Legislative Assembly and council complex in its place.
One of the PILs was filed by Noori Muzaffar Hussain and seven others, who claimed to be legal heirs of Nawab Safdar Jung Musheer-ud-daula Fakrul Mulk, who built the Errum Manzil. They sought a direction to the State government not to demolish the structure.
Another PIL, by Hyderabad Zindabad, an NGO represented by senior journalist Pasham Yadagiri, challenged the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017. In response, additional advocate general (AAG) J Ramachandra Rao said the new legislation intentionally omitted Regulation 13 of the HMDA Act. Trying to defend the government’s decision to remove the Regulation, he said that after the removal of Regulation 13, vide GO 183 dated Dec 17, 2015, the government brought in the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017. With the new Act, Section 6 of the General Clauses Act was not applicable to the present case, he argued.
The bench has posted the matter to Wednesday for further hearing.