HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to take stringent action against unauthorised constructions, following concerns over violations of building regulations in parts of Hyderabad.
The court ordered the GHMC to seal a multi-storey building in the Old City and conduct inspections of ongoing constructions in Siddambar Bazaar and Begum Bazaar. The directions were issued by Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy while hearing a petition concerning alleged building violations.
The court observed that the self-certification system for building permissions cannot be misused to bypass mandatory planning regulations, including prescribed setbacks and limits on the number of floors.
According to the GHMC, the building in question was originally an old ground-plus-one-floor structure. Despite notices and an opportunity for a personal hearing, additional floors were allegedly constructed without valid final building permission and without maintaining the required setbacks. The structure was subsequently expanded to ground plus five or six floors.
The court noted that the 114.14-square-yard plot could legally accommodate only a ground-plus-two-floor structure under the applicable regulations. It made clear that a construction that could not have been legally sanctioned could not simply be regularised.
The GHMC has also been directed to identify and prevent unauthorised constructions at the initial stage, rather than waiting until buildings are completed. Officials have been instructed to inspect ongoing projects in the identified areas and submit a compliance report to the court.
In another important direction, the court ordered that building permissions be prominently displayed at construction sites. The measure is intended to improve transparency and make it easier for authorities and the public to identify whether a construction has valid approval.
The directions reinforce the court’s emphasis on stricter enforcement of urban planning regulations and greater accountability in Hyderabad’s rapidly expanding construction sector.