Hyderabad, April 21: The raids conducted by the CBI on officials, builders and elected ward members for promoting illegal constructions in Secunderabad Cantonment on Tuesday only scratches the surface of the issue.
There are nearly 1.50 lakh large and small buildings in the 40-square kilometre area of the Cantonment and 80 per cent of these are unauthorised. Enquiries revealed that of the 80 per cent unauthorised buildings, over 10,000 were constructed without SCB’s permission and the rest violated building rules or deviated from the sanctioned building plans. In fact, buildings have also been constructed in the open spaces in the 260 colony layouts that were to be left for parks.
A survey was conducted four years back in the Cantonment to identify the illegal buildings. The then chief executive officer, Mr Pre Chand, had got the survey conducted, which had put the unauthorised constructions’ figure at 80 per cent. The survey report, however, was conveniently filed away. Officials maintained that if they were to take up demolitions of the unauthorised structures, they would have to pull down over one lakh buildings, which was next to impossible.
As per the Cantonment Act, only ground-plus two buildings are permitted to be constructed within Cantonment limits but the area is dotted with many four and five storey buildings. It has been alleged that the SCB officials are bribed by the owners and builders, following which the officials confine their action to only issuing notices. Except for demolishing a few buildings of owners who fail to pay up, other notices of demolitions remain only on paper.
Sources said that there were a few “middlemen” working for a couple of elected ward members who went to sites of illegal buildings and squeezed money from the owner.
After taking money from the builders, they would then approach SCB officials and take money from them threatening them that they would alert the CBI.
The illegal construction activity has been helped by the fact that the SCB does not have a buildings demolition squad. There is also no exclusive town planning wing in the SCB.
The SCB vice-president, Mr J. Pratap said, “The elected body has passed resolutions to create a separate town planning wing and has also urged the defence ministry to offer Building Regularisation Scheme in SCB limits. You can’t demolish 80 per cent of the buildings,” he added.
–Agencies