People flout building rules in Shamshabad
Panchayat staff ignores violations, spurs illegal buildings
Ahead of Gaganpahad, in areas overseen by the panchayat officer and HMDA, there are reports of rampant illegal construction and gross violation of building regulations. Shamshabad is a hotbed for property buyers with the current rate being about ` 1 lakh per square yard along the main road and between ` 30,000 and `40,000 in the interiors. Several complaints of unauthorised constructions and irregularities are lying with the panchayat office, most of it unattended.
Shamshabad houses the world's fifth biggest airport. A majority of convention halls, hotels and other commercial establishments have mushroomed in and around this area. A few colonies have also come up here.
There are two major issues at play here. The first is illegal constructions-illegal floors, high deviations, no mandatory parking space as stipulated. The second issue, that is equally disturbing, is the huge expanse of unauthorised layouts that is spread across acres.
A majority of the illegal structures have been identified in Rallaguda, Madhuranagar, RB Nagar and Brindavan Colony, Adarshanagar.
Mr Chakradhar Reddy, a resident of Shamshabad explains, “A prime part of Shamshabad, that is Madhuranagar falls under GO–111 area, where constructions have been stalled. While RB Nagar is a HUDA layout, rest is under the gram panchayat. Shamshabad is spread across 6600 plus acres and it is populated by over 1 lakh people.
“Madhura Nagar and RB Nagar are considered to be the Banjara hills of Shamshabad. Despite a construction ban in place, there are numerous residences, commercial units that are being built in these localities; it takes 2-3 months for the panchayat office to look into one complaint. Sometimes officials attending a particular complaint is transferred and the investigation is left mid-way. Most of the building plans in the locality are unapproved.”
He further added, “Due to the direct connectivity between Shamshabad and Outer Ring Road, the PVNR highway with 6 lanes and 20-minute travel to Banjara and Jubilee Hills, Shamshabad has become a preferred locality. The area has a decent connectivity to Ghatkesar, Gachibowli and Bengaluru highway as well. Another 6-lane carriageway is under construction from Aram Ghar to Shamshabad.”
Meanwhile the executive officer of the Panchayat office, Shamshabad who took charge on June 1st, said, “We have severe staff constraints. There is no special staff or team in the Panchayat office to identify illegal buildings. The civic body consist of workers for sanitation, drinking water and other works, a total of 20 members. The office has no technical staff to control building violations.”