Hyderabad High Court grants stay to construction activity by Pride India

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday granted stay on the alleged illegal construction on about 150 acres of government land at Devatalagutta in Balapur of the city. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akhter, while dealing with a PIL by Devatalagutta Parirakshana Samiti vice-president N. Ramreddy challenging the failure of the authorities to prevent private parties from making constructions on the government land, granted the interim stay.

The High Court had on March 30 appointed a committee headed by Registrar (judicial) of the High Court with the officers from the HMDA and Revenue department to inspect the alleged illegal construction activity on the government land. The petitioner alleged that Pride India Builders Ltd., a real estate firm, was constructing villas by demolishing temples and other structures in 150 acres of government land and also land belonging to some private individuals.

P.S.P. Suresh Kumar, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that all the structures were constructed without permission and about 450 individuals who purchased the villas and plots have applied for regularisation. The committee which has visited Devatalagutta on April 1 submitted its report along with photographs of the structures on alleged government land. The bench, after perusing the report, expressed anger at the authorities for not preventing the illegal constructions. The bench pointed out that the photographs indicated that those constructions had not come up overnight and the construction activity had been going on for quite a long time.

Counsel for the HMDA said that the layouts were unauthorised and land on which construction activity was going is under the conservative zone. Counsel for the nagar panchayat submitted that the builders have not taken prior permission from them. The bench, while directing the authorities to take steps to stop the construction activity, ordered that no construction be regularised till further orders. The bench also directed the real estate firm not to demolish the structures and not to install any idols.