Telangana High Court on Thursday instructed the Telangana State Housing Board (TSHB) authorities and the Commissioner Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to conduct a joint inspection looking out for illegal structures in Kukatpally Housing Board Colony Phase-III.
If any illegal structures were found, the Housing Board officials and GHMC should immediately serve notices to the persons concerned calling for their explanation, the HC said. Officers of the two departments should also restrain private persons from undertaking any unauthorised construction activity there.
The directions were issued by a bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy while hearing a PIL petition filed by a non-governmental organisation called Community Organisation for People’s Emancipation. The NGO had submitted repeated representations to the authorities over illegal buildings by private persons coming up in Phase-III of KPHB Colony.
In addition to the officers of the Housing Board and the GHMC, the bench issued notices to four private persons on the matter. They were instructed to file counter affidavits with four weeks. Private persons, who allegedly built structures illegally in the common areas of the KPHB colony were also directed to respond to the contentions of the petitioner organisation which sought direction to demolish such illegally raised structures.
Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy observed that the houses in the colony were built some 20 years to 30 years ago. As members of the families owning the houses grew in numbers, they began expanding the structures in violation of rules. The bench instructed the authorities to furnish, by the date of next hearing, the site inspection report and the subsequent action initiated by them against illegal structures.
