Deccan Chronicle            10.07.2013

Demolition pending for a year

Hyderabad: The G block in Secretariat that accommodated the offices of former chief ministers like Jalagam Vengal Rao and N.T. Rama Rao was identified as a dilapidated building a year ago, but is yet to be demolished.

GHMC engineers and town planners who took up a fresh survey of dilapidated buildings from Tuesday, identified 157 more buildings in addition to the 274 already on their list. Of the new 157 identified, the G block, located in the state Secretariat is one such.

“Our engineers inspected the G Block building in the Secretariat and said that it has to be demolished. We are writing to the Roads and Buildings Department to demolish the building,” GHMC zonal commissioner (central zone)  Siva Parvathi told this correspondent.

Presently, there is no office in the G Block. Enquires revealed that the G Block was constructed during the Nizam’s reign and was used as an administrative building for 50 years.

The High Court directed state government to take a decision whether to conserve or demolish the building after a public interest litigation was filed, stating it to be a heritage building. A state government committee comprising experts in heritage conservation and heritage lovers inspected the building and submitted a report that it was not on the heritage list.

A panel led by the then chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi was set up to recommend what should be done. Most of the members favoured its demolition and construction of a new building in its place. The file was sent to the Chief Minister’s office and a decision on it has been pending from almost a year.

GHMC demolishes twelve Buildings in just one day 

Hyderabad: A day after the City Light Hotel building collapse, special teams of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation demolished 12 dilapidated buildings, located at various places, in the city. Riding on the heat generated by the City Light Hotel building collapse, the bull dozers of GHMC faced little resistance although inmates of some of the buildings complained that they were not given sufficient time to vacate.

This is the first time, in the history of the municipal corporation, that 12 dilapidated buildings were demolished on a single day. The demolitions will continue for a week. Citizen should cooperate with GHMC, the officials appealed.

The GHMC officials continued to identify the buildings going by its external appearance only. No engineering and wave tests are being conducted to assess the internal fitness of the beams, columns and ceilings or even the binding strength.