Manikonda demolition begins, ends midway

The buildings were constructed five to six years ago in Panchavati Colony in violation of the norms

Workers of the Panchayati Raj Department demolishing unauthorised apartments at Manikonda, in Hyderabad on Thursday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Six buildings in Manikonda, built without permission from the authorities concerned, were partly demolished by the officials in a drive conducted on Thursday morning.

However, the officials had to return mid-way after local residents, backed by their MLA, protested vociferously.

The buildings were constructed five to six years ago in Panchavati Colony in violation of the norms.

While the builders had permission only for ground plus two structures, the buildings had sprung up at more than two floors.

Manikonda reportedly has more than 400 such structures in violation of the norms.

Responding to a petition, the Lokayukta has recently directed the district administration to take action against the unauthorised structures, following which the Revenue Divisional Officer and the district panchayat officials undertook the demolition.

MLA Prakash Goud intervened on behalf of the residents and had the drive called off. Many of the residents have reportedly applied for regularisation, despite which the authorities went ahead with the drive.

Residents cried foul about the demolition, and questioned as to how so many structures were allowed to come up by the panchayat officials in the first place. Joint Collector R. Mutyala Raju was not available for his comment on the demolition.