Reading the riot Act to the HYDRAA commissioner, the court asked whether he knew there were court orders that buildings should not be demolished after sunset and on Saturdays and Sundays.
Published Sep 30, 2024 | 2:25 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2024 | 2:30 PM
The Telangana High Court. (Wikimedia Commons)
Taking a serious exception to the demolition of buildings on Saturdays and Sundays, the Telangana High Court on Monday, 30 September, asked Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath whether he would pull down Charminar if the tahsildar concerned asked him for demolition equipment and staff.
Reading the riot act to the HYDRAA commissioner, the court asked whether he knew there were court orders that buildings should not be demolished after sunset and on Saturdays and Sundays.
“Why are you working on Sundays even though it is your holiday? Why are you issuing notices on holidays and pulling down buildings posthaste?” asked the court.
The high court shot a volley of questions at Ranganath who virtually attended the hearing on a petition concerning the demolition of a hospital belonging to one Mohamad Rafi in Ameenpur in Sangareddy district.
The court said it was continuing its stay on demolitions in Ameenpur, asked HYDRAA and Ameenpur tahsildar to file a counter and adjourned further hearing of the case to 8 October.
When Ranganath said that the demolition of buildings in Ameenpur had nothing to do with HYDRAA and that it only supplied the machines and staff following the request of the tahsildar concerned, the court asked him whether he would do the same if Charminar tahasilar asked for equipment to raze Charminar.
The thasildar of Ameenpur attended the court in person.
The court also wanted to know how the authorities could pull down the building whilst a stay order was issued on 5 September and asked whether HYDRAA wanted to scare the people. The court also said it was getting to hear people say HYDRAA had no work other than razing buildings.
The court, making no secret of its displeasure, warned Ranganath that it would be forced to stay the operation of the Government Order under which HYDRAA was constituted. He asked Ranganath not to violate laws to please his political bosses. The court asked whether he knew there was a court stay order on a building in Ameenpur that the HYDRAA had pulled down in the past.
The court handed out a stern warning to Ranganath and other officials that they would be in serious trouble if they did not follow the laws.
“If you continue to defy Acts, you may soon have to go home,” the high court said, wondering whether the HYDRAA would not give even one last opportunity to the owner of the property, to be heard.
“Even while sending a person to the gallows, his last wish is accommodated,” the court said. It asked the HYDRAA commissioner not to subject anyone to inconvenience in the name of removal of illegal structures.
The court further questioned Ranganath on the number of lakes of which the Full Tank Levels (FTL) have been fixed and the measures taken to ensure the free flow of water.
It also wanted to know why the HYDRAA had left everything to the wind and was focusing only on demolitions and questioned the legal sanctity of the government organisation
The high court also directed the government to register cases against those who had given clearances in violation of rules and clarified that it was not against the protection of government property. It urged the related government departments to work in close coordination.
Meanwhile, the court asked the government not to discriminate between the affluent sections and the ordinary people and warned the officers who worked against rules and Acts of jail time.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
