Out of slumber, GHMC task forces start cracking down on illegal structures

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The special task forces constituted by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are finally working towards fulfilling their mandate by taking action against unauthorised structures which have been springing up at every nook and corner of the city.

Close to three years after being constituted, the task forces have been deployed for identification and demolition of unauthorised structures.

As per information from the GHMC, as on March 21, 481 structures have been pulled down across six zones of the city during the past three months. The task force teams have been asked to show the output on a daily basis.

The teams were constituted in 2021 in line with

A view of the GHMC head office.

the TSbPASS (The Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self Certification System) Act, 2020 and the rules thereof. Their sole aim was to detect and monitor unauthorised constructions and layouts and take action.

By making task force teams directly report to the respective zonal commissioners, orders issued by then commissioner D. S. Lokesh Kumar had eased out the Town Planning headquarters from the responsibility of enforcement.

Random allocation of teams for verification and initiation of action so that no staff is allowed to be entrenched at one location was said to be the factor that would help enforcement.

Site inspections were to be carried out within three days after receiving complaints through various platforms such as My GHMC App, website, social media, and also directly to the officials. The engineers from National Academy of Construction, appointed on adhoc basis in circles, were allotted wards for inspection of buildings under construction. Deviations noticed should be reported for necessary action through enforcement teams, as per orders.

Despite several warnings from the High Court with regard to the illegal structures in the city, the

GHMC had not shown much action till recently and instead blamed the civil suits filed by errant builders as an excuse for inaction. GHMC Commissioner D. Ronald Rose said: “Task forces have been actively deployed for the past three months. Civil suits are no more a hindrance.”

“If there is a status quo order, it applies equally to the builder who should desist from going ahead with the construction. As soon as the stay is vacated, we are taking action. Notices are being issued as per procedure before taking up demolition work,” he added. A total of 151 structures were pulled down in Kukatpally zone and 94 in the Serilingampally zone till March 21. Secunderabad recorded 82 demolitions while LB Nagar, Charminar and Khairatabad witnessed 75, 40 and 39 demolitions respectively.