Telangana High Court had suo moto taken up a report published by a Telugu daily on illegal constructions in nalas and water bodies in Hyderabad as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe would hear the PIL plea on Thursday.
The news report stated that land grabbers are building villas in ponds and water bodies, which is resulting in acute water shortage and depletion of ground water, the report said.
Already, ground water in different parts of the city is drying up due to indiscriminate and illegal erection of massive structures by occuyping nalas and tanks, it stated.
Justice E.V. Venugopal of the High Court had written a letter annexing a copy of the news report following which the HC had taken up the report as PIL petition.
Chief Secretary and other top officials of the State along with the Collectors of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts were made respondents in the plea.
R&B Dept. petition
The Roads and Buildings Department of Vikarabad district had moved High Court by filing a writ petition challenging the action of the authorities of the Medchal GSTC Commissionerate over the latter’s demand urging the R&B Department to pay service tax to the tune of ₹26.07 crore. The amount includes penalties.
The R&B Department contended that the direction of the GSTC officials to freeze two bank accounts of the department are arbitrary and devoid of jurisdiction.
A Division Bench of Justices Sujoy Paul and N. Tukaramji will hear the petition.
