Telangana Govt To Resume Secretariat Demolition

HYDERABAD: In a big relief to the state government. The Telangana High Court on Friday gave a green signal for the resumption of the demolition of secretariat buildings. The court has dismissed all the petitions challenging the demolition of the buildings.

 The court has clarified that there is a requirement of approval from the Central Pollution Control Board in order to construct the new buildings by demolishing old ones. The court agreed with Advocate General BS Prasad's contention that permits were only required to undertake new constructions and also directed the government to comply with the COVID-19 measures while carrying out demolition works.

The high court bench comprising Justice RS Chauhan and Justice B. Vijayasen on Friday heard a batch of PILs challenging the demolition of secretariat buildings. These petitions were filed by Prof. PL Visweshwar Rao and Telangana Inti Party president Dr Cheruku Sudhakar. Earlier, the court had sought a clarification from the Centre on whether the demolition of the secretariat buildings needed prior approval from the Ministry of Environment. Responding to this, the Centre clarified that there is no need for a prior approval from the Ministry of Environment. The court had also dismissed the petition filed by Congress MLC Jeevan Reddy in this regard.