Hyderabad: The GHMC cannot demolish most dilapidated buildings despite threats and complaints as the owners get stay orders from court, which the civic body’s tribunal often fails to get removed.
After a notice is served, in many cases the GHMC town planning staff themselves asks the owners to approach the court. This monsoon the municipal body has demolished only seven buildings so far. How-ever, it has warned that action will be initiated against all old and dilapidated structures and notices served under the provisions of HMC Act. As many as 805 dilapidated buildings in the city continue to pose a threat to their surroundings.
Mr Mahesh Baghvat, a resident of Nallakunta said, “An 80-year-old three-storey building next to my house is highly damaged. I have met the circle town-planning inspector and submitted pictures, I’ve also lodged a complaint with the GHMC call centre twice. But the building has not been demolished yet because the owner has got a stay from the court, there are people still living in this building. If it collapses it will kill people around it too.”
Another issue is disputes between owners and tenants. Mr Naresh Sanghi, resident of Charkaman stated in a complaint to the GHMC: “Following GHMC’s notice we have informed our tenants to immediately vacate the premises, but they are not agreeing in any manner to vacate the said premises. Our building is more than 100 years old and can collapse at any moment.”
GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy said, “The trouble is that the occupants are not willing to leave. Deputy commissioners have issued notices to the owners of the dilapidated buildings and will demolish them soon.”
