The Deccan Chronicle  18.08.2010

Hyderabad, Aug. 17: The Saidabad building collapse exposes the callousness of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. The building that collapsed was not even on the GHMC’s “dilapidated buildings” list. It only proves that the civic body is unaware of the number of “dilapidated” buildings that are unsafe for human habitation in the city.

Eight years ago, the GHMC had conducted a survey and identified 737 buildings as “unfit for habitation.” Thereafter, no new survey has been conducted. What is more, the civic body has not yet demolished the 341 of the 737 buildings that were identified as dilapidated.

Even the State Human Rights Commission had directed the GHMC earlier to demolish such buildings. However, hundreds of families continue to live in these buildings.

Officials say the building residents are unwilling to vacate the premises and that a large number of them have got stay orders from the High Court against the demolition of their buildings.

The chief city planner of the GHMC, Mr G.V. Raghu, said, “We have demolished 245 buildings and have taken up repair work on another 125 old buildings.”

The Times of India  12.08.2010

Illegal colony razed in city

LUDHIANA: Acting tough against illegal colonization, the municipal corporation (MC) demolished an under-construction colony at Hambran Road here on Wednesday.

Being built for the last one month on 11,000 square yards, the colony was razed after the MC got a tip-off around three days back. During the drive, nobody from the contractor's side turned up at the site for owning up responsibility or to stop the officials.

The MC officials also sealed a sweets shop for defying the land use policy. The shopkeeper had erected a gate in the residential colony. Commercial activities could take place only at the main road and not in residential colonies.
"We had received information about the construction three days back. We demolished it immediately as no permission had been sought from corporation," said assistant town planner SS Bindra.

The MC officials had removed three illegal colonies at Kakowal Road on July 27. The contractor had started the works by building boundary walls and installing the sewerage and water connections.

In December 2009, the MC's town planning wing had razed around 150 housesin Haibowal. Similarly, on May 27, a three-member vigilance team had visited four unauthorized colonies in Haibowal.

These colonies exist mostly on the outer areas, especially on Hambran Road, Jalandhar Bypass, Kakowal Road and Haibowal.

Sources said the action against unauthorized colonies remained limited up to dismantling of the illegal structures and authorities did not penalize any colonizer till now. Most of these were either being developed by relatives of councillors or the acquaintances of officials. The officials cited political pressure.