The Deccan Chronicle 26.08.2010
Illegal constructions unchecked
Hyderabad, Aug. 25: More and more buildings are being illegally constructed in the city as officials of the town planning wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation are not taking any action despite complaints by citizens.
With officials turning a blind eye, people are violating building rules and are conveniently deviating from the sanctioned plan while constructing.
The latest example of building violations is the construction of a mosque at the Golden Heights Colony at Rajendernagar.
Mr Fawad Tamkanat, an artist and a resident of the colony, has been a victim of building violations. The mosque is being constructed on the plot behind his house. He says the people constructing the mosque did not take any precaution to put up covers to prevent cement and other construction material from falling inside his premises. This led to his walls and the empty area of his plot getting splattered with cement.
Moreover, one of the beams of the mosque building is partially encroaching into Mr Tamkanat’s plot area.
“I protested to the plot owner and also to the engineer constructing the mosque. They asked me to bear with it as the building was being constructed for a mosque. I am a Muslim and I know mosques should not be constructed by causing inconvenience to others and by encroaching into their property. My complaints with municipal officers did not also yield any result,” Mr Tamkanat said.
Mr Zafar, the engineer who is constructing the mosque said they had no intention of encroaching into the other property. However, he admitted that no precautions had been taken in the early stages of construction to prevent cement and other material from falling into the premises of Mr Tamkanat.
“We will paint the exterior walls of Mr Tamkanat’s residence after the mosque is completed. I have already asked the labourers to cut the beams a portion of which has entered into his plot area,” he said.
The GHMC deputy municipal commissioner, Ms Vijay Lakshmi, said she had directed the town planning officials to visit the spot. The town planning section officer, Mr Kishore Kumar, who visited the spot said: “I have asked the engineer to cut the beam. If the engineer fails to remove the unauthorised portion of the building, the GHMC will do it,” he said.
