Hyderabad High Court seeks details of parks in city

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the TS government, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to file a report giving details of parks available in the city and also, the land allotted to parks. They were also asked if there are any proposals to develop new parks in their limits to provide recreation to the coming generations.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was dealing with a PIL by senior advocate of the High Court K. Pratap Reddy. The PIL seeking to declare the action of respondent authorities in failing to provide adequate green spaces / park areas / recreational areas for the citizens of the state as a constitutional failure of the state in its duty, violation of the citizens’ Fundamental Rights, including Rights guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Counsel appearing for the petitioner alleged that the government has failed in allotting land for parks in the city and towns. He said that the existing parks were also shrinking either by encroachments or by way of sale of lands of parks by the government.

Counsel said that earlier governments used to create parks in towns, mostly in the name of Mahatma Gandhi, and now-a-days, the government was not taking such steps but instead was allotting huge chunks of land for establishing hardware, textile, biotech and IT parks leaving ‘Green Zones’ that provide lung space and also recreation to the public.

The bench granted two weeks to the respondents to file their affidavits.
The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the Medchal district collector to submit an Action Taken Report on illegal chemical industries and godowns functioning at Dhoolapally village of the district, within a week.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was dealing with a PIL by G. Satish and two others of Dhoolapally village, challenging the inaction of the authorities in taking action against the alleged 109 illegal chemical units.

Sarasani Satyam Reddy, senior counsel for the petitioners, submitted that these chemical units and godowns were in operation without obtaining any permissions and thus causing threat to human life and environmental pollution.

Government counsel told the court that the district collector had already issued notices to 98 factories and godowns operating without permission and directed those units to vacate the premises. The bench directed the district collector to submit an ATR on the issue within a week.