BRS’ Move to Scrap GO 111 Helped Only Realtors

Hyderabad: The former BRS government’s decision to withdraw GO 111 which curbs constructions in the catchment areas of the Himayatsagar and Osmansagar, that traditionally supplied drinking water to Hyderabad, has resulted in mushrooming of illegal constructions, said residents.

An official in the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department said there are over 25,000 illegal constructions in the area that is affected by GO 111.

“Illegal structures were identified for the first time in 2016. After that, there has been no activity to identify such illegal buildings. According to a rough estimate, there are 25,000 structures that are illegal,” he said.

In June, the Rangareddy district task force demolished multistorey buildings in Vattinagulapally as they were built in the GO 111 area.

In 2022, the Telangana High Court on Friday allowed landowners to begin work on high-rise apartments in 87 land parcels spread across 948 acres at Vattinagulapally. Some people took advantage of it and raised buildings at places which are not in the exempted category of land parcels.

Moinabad, Shankarpally Road, Azia Nagar and Janwada are some places where scores of illegal structures have mushroomed.

“Only the real estate industry benefited because of the revocation of GO 111. Our fate is left hanging. They merely announced that GO 111 will be revoked without even basic designs of conservation measures for Osmansagar and Himyatsagar,” said a property owner at Himayatsagar village.