2 officials face axe in Hyderabad building collapse incident

The axe has fallen on a Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Town Planning Officer of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in wake of the collapse of a six-storied under construction building in Nanakramguda on Thursday night.

Municipal Administration Minister K.T.Rama Rao, who visited the site of the building collapse on Friday morning, expressed his strong displeasure at the lackadaisical attitude of the civic officials.

“Had the Deputy Commissioner and the Town planning officials inspected the structure, this unfortunate incident would not have occurred,” he said adding that the two officers were placed under suspension with immediate effect.

Admitting that some lower rung staff in the GHMC are turning a blind eye to blatant violation of building construction rules, Mr. Rama Rao said he would not spare anybody even if they were ministers or their family members. “Anyone who is found guilty will be punished and the TRS Government is committed to ensure safe building construction in the city,” Mr. Rama Rao remarked.

Stating that the Government had launched a major drive against illegal constructions since February this year, Mr. Rama Rao said even in case of the Filmnagar Club Arch collapse, the Government has refused to allow the club to reopen. The club management approached the court and obtained order.

The Municipal Administration Minister said 1, 800 encroachments on the nalas in the city were removed and 1,000 dilapidated buildings were razed to the ground to avoid collapse like situation. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has taken up massive removal of encroachments in the last few days. “The drive will continue and the Government is not going to keep quiet if the illegal constructions continue. Greediness of some builders and the negligent attitude of the civic officials is causing these problems,” he said.

A special committee headed by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Secretary Navin Mittal has been constituted to examine the construction activity in the city and identify violations and illegal structures. “We will act tough against the errant builders once the report is submitted,” Mr. Rama Rao observed.