The Telangana High Court has halted the Chandrashekar Rao government from further demolishing the secretariat buildings, till Monday.
The state had earlier this week begun the demolition of the buildings in the secretariat complex in the heart of Hyderabad, in order to construct a grand edifice as envisaged by Rao, with an estimated cost of Rs 400-500 crore.
The HC had, on 29 June, dismissed a set of petitions challenging the TRS government’s plans for a new secretariat, following which the demolition commenced.
“But based on our prayer today, the court has asked the various departments concerned like urban development, pollution control board along with the state’s chief secretary to respond with a proper plan, in accordance with various rules related to such demolition and construction, and posted the matter to Monday,” Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for petitioners told DH.
Dr Cheruku Sudhakar and Prof Vishweswara Rao are the petitioners who have challenged the KCR government’s new secretariat plans in the court.
Chikkudu Prabhakar said that they have also questioned the state government’s “arbitrary move” of demolition during the pandemic time in contravention of the laws, rules related to the epidemic diseases and disaster management.
Wirth police deployment and traffic diversions, the government has razed some of the structures already. Opposition BJP and Congress have demanded Rao drop his plans, while accusing him of displaying monarch-like behavior.
Meanwhile, CM Rao on Friday expressed regret over the damage caused to the temple and mosque in the Secretariat premises due to the demolition works.
“While demolishing the multistoried old buildings, the adjacent temple and mosque were damaged due to debris. It should not have happened. The government’s intention is to build a new complex without causing any damage to the temple or the mosque,” Rao said.
According to a CMO statement, Rao said that a new, spacious temple and mosque would be built at government cost.
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