Work within law or bear costs, HC to GHMC

Hyderabad: The ongoing supervision of multiple cases complaining of illegal constructions and illegal permissions came up yet again for consideration before the Telangana High Court. Irked by such patterned behaviour by the civic authorities, Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court had in one such case summoned V. Prashanthi, Jubilee Hills GHMC deputy commissioner, and traced the impugned action to a statutory power of discretion.

The judge was not convinced that the power of discretion could be used contrary to the intent of the statute. He directed the authorities to take action in accordance with law or face the risk of paying exemplary costs. The judge also expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of local authorities in Jubilee Hills, stating that many establishments were operating without adherence to regulations and such an approach could encourage individuals to construct buildings without prior approval and then seek permission afterward.