Illegal Constructions Mushroom in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The introduction of the Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self-certification System (TS-bPASS), GHMC’s Town Planning wing’s enforcement, Directorate of Enforcement Vigilance & Disaster Management (EV&DM) and the recently-constituted Hyderabad Disaster Response & Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) have failed to curb the illegal constructions in the city.

Dozens of illegal structures have mushroomed in different parts of the city and continue to increase with every passing day.

Interviews with the officials of municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD), and resident welfare associations (RWAs), and those who built illegal structures revealed that there are multiple reasons for illegal structures getting constructed unabated.

The expectation to get higher rental income is the prime reason for the illegal constructions. The factors that make it happen are nexus between officials and violators of rules. While the officials want to take action, political intervention stalls it.

For instance, if a person owns a plot with an area ranging between 200 square metres and 300 square metres, the building’s height should not cross 10 metres or a maximum of three floors. However in view of good rentals in Hyderabad, the owner typically constructs a five or six-storey building on a 300 square metre plot.

There have also been incidents where a 300 square metre plot was developed into a six-floor apartment complex by a builder, with both of them taking equal numbers of illegally constructed flats.

There are also a few examples where some property owners, who bought an existing house, are denied permission to construct additional floors, if there is a deviation in the existing ground floor. This also makes people opt for illegal constructions.

“I bought a house around five years ago, which had only a ground floor. When I want to construct an additional floor, authorities denied permission citing deviations,” said a bank employee.

Notary lands are also one of the primary reasons for illegal construction in the city. As these land parcels are not registered, they cannot apply for building permission, forcing them to construct buildings illegally. Ayyappa Society, parts of Gayatri Hills in Jubilee Hills, dozens of areas in Old City, where registration is banned, land transactions are done on notary documents.