HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday censured GHMC officials for allowing unlawful structures in the city deliberately and for working behind the scenes to get those projects legalised in court.
The GHMC employees are the primary offenders in getting the electricity, water connections, and regularisation for the unlawful buildings, the court said.
Justice Vijaysen Reddy was hearing a batch of petitions seeking direction to the energy department to offer electrical connections to structures in various parts of Hyderabad without requiring an occupancy permit.
When the court began inquiring about the problem, it discovered that the structures were built without permits and with deviations from the allowed layout.
Will include ACB in pleas if needed, HC warns GHMC
Several such petitions were received from the Ayyappa Housing Society in Khanamet and adjacent areas.
The court questioned the Commissioner and other civic body officials as they were unaware of the Supreme Court’s status quo rulings, which prohibit development on Ayyappa Society land.
“You (GHMC) would not halt unlawful buildings and would even allow them to be completed. Later, your staff encourages them to go to the court to get the electricity and water hooked up. GHMC personnel are playing a critical role in using the courts as a tool to approve unlawful structures,” Justice Reddy stated.
The court warned the GHMC administration that it will include the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in any petitions for relief from the illegal structures in order to learn about the participation of personnel in completing the stated illegal projects.