Vigilance report ignored

A vigilance report submitted on April 18, 2015 on encroachments and illegal constructions at Manikonda and Puppalaguda in the IT corridor by the then director general for vigilance and enforcement, Mr T.P. Das, was ignored by the government, which led to 500 more illegal apartments.

The vigilance team had identified 244 apartments and individual houses that were constructed without any approvals. Of these about 10 per cent encroached on the Bulkapur Nala and Pandenavaagu.

The Bulkapur Nala is a key nala from Musi to Hussainsagar via Manikonda, Raidurgam, Shaikpet, Tolichowki and Lakdi-ka-pul.

Due to the encroachments along the banks of the nala, Hakimpet and Nadeem Colony used to face inundations during heavy rains and the government constructed the Tolichowki flyover to overcome traffic problems during rains. The nala had shrunk at Manikonda, Raidurgam and Shaikpet localities.

Being under the jurisdiction of the gram panchayat, builders at Manikonda and Puppala-guda violated building permissions and constructed high-rises.

As per the directions of the Chief Minister and based on a complaint (No. 2,071) received by the Upa Lokayukta on August 16, 2013 against violations in BPS in Manikonda, Narsingi, Shankarpally, Shamshabad and other gram panchayats, a Vigilance team, under the supervision of then DG Mr T.P. Das and Ranga Reddy district vigilance SP Mr K. Ramachandran, had found 1,390 buildings in Manikonda Jagir of which 244 were illegal and 454 apartments had been constructed in violation of permissions by extending additional floors against G+1.

As the government did not take any stringent action based on the report, about 500 more constructions were established or are being built in the last 17 months.

The T.P. Das report had also recommended the government for taking stringent action against officials who were behind the illegal constructions and those who had remained silent while high-rises buildings were being constructed since 2006.Apart from HMDA field-level officials, the report had also recommended action against the then district panchayat officials (DPOs), APOs,