Telangana HC scoffs at HMDA for lack of info on GO 111
According to EPTRI, around 948 acres of land in Vattinagulapally were included in GO 111, though it is a non-catchment area
HYDERABAD: A division bench of Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy on Monday found fault with the HMDA and the state government for not having minimum information regarding the extent of land in Vattinagulapally village of Ranga Reddy district, which does not come under the catchment area of the twin drinking water reservoirs of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar but is included in the purview of GO 111 which prohibits construction of high rise buildings in the area.
According to the Environmental Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), around 948 acres of land in various survey numbers of Vattinagulapally village were included in GO 111, though it is a non-catchment area. It was also submitted by the government on an earlier occasion that if high-rise buildings were allowed in these 948 acres, sewage and stormwater would hit the Kokapet lake and further the Himayatsagar. On this ground, the court took a decision to revive the petitions challenging the auctions of lands at Kokapet.
But, on Monday, the additional advocate general (AAG) submitted to the court that the EPTRI did not give details of the extent of non-catchment area of Vattinagulapally. He also conveyed to the court about the request of the government to not issue orders on the non-catchment area of Vattinagulapally village. If any orders are passed, that would adversely affect the implementation of GO 111, the AAG said. HMDA counsel also could not provide the details to the court.
Reacting to it, Justice Kohli wondered how the government and the HMDA did not have the details of the non-catchment area in terms of the EPTRI reports. While expressing its displeasure, the court directed the AAG and the HMDA to furnish requisite information by Tuesday.
The court also expressed its discontent at the government placing huge bundles of files in the eleventh hour as records of evidence about the steps being taken to ensure that prior arrangement for the sewage and stormwater infrastructure were created by the HMDA, before auctioning of 49.94 acres of land at Kokapet.
In the earlier round of hearings, the bench had directed the Telangana government and the HMDA to furnish the records viz., relevant files showing the creation of sewage and stormwater facilities in the lands which were auctioned recently in Kokapet.