Hyderabad: In a classic case of the government apathy, the 7-floor structure (with 2-floors in basement) ‘Garden View Wakf Mall’ has been “under construction” for over a decade. With heavy rains wreaking havoc across Hyderabad over the past few days, the incomplete building has now become a breeding ground for mosquitoes with its basement almost entirely filling with rainwater.
The under construction building is adjacent to the Haj House in Nampally, and has been in that position from nearly 11 years The TS Police Housing Corporation, which is involved in major developmental projects.
Earlier, the state government had decided to support the Minority Welfare schemes with the rentals and stated that the building would be leased out for commercial usage. However, it later decided to use the building as space for remaining departments which are located in different parts of the city.
Speaking on the issue, last year state Home Minister Mahmood Ali said that a thorough process would be taken up by inviting tenders for the building’s completion. “We hope that the TS Police Housing Corporation, which has good engineers, will take up this work in the open bidding. A state-of-the-art building will not only house offices related to Minorities, but can also be leased to other government offices,” he added.
So far, several meetings have been held between government officials, but clearly nothing has bore fruit. The construction of the ‘Garden View Wakf Mall’ in fact had begun during the time of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, who laid the foundation stone of the building in 2009.
Many times, the issue had also been raised in the state Assembly by the All India Majilise-Ittehadul Muslimeen floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, who said that it can be used for minorities. “The main structure was completed about 6 years back, but delays in completing the project has turned the building’s basement into a breeding ground for mosquitos now,” said Syed Murtuza, a local social activist.
Murtuza added that if the building’s basement is not cleared soon, the structure will become weak. Since 2001, the 11-storey Haj House building with the name ‘Razzack Manzil’, has been housing the state Minorities offices, like Haj committee, Waqf Board, Minority Finance Corporation, Urdu Academy, Quazzat (marriage certificate) office and some other offices.