Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday asked the state government to constitute a special committee on the protection of historical monuments of the state and take steps for their protection. It also asked the state government to prepare an action plan for the round development of these monuments. It said that the first meeting of the committees so constituted by the state government should be held before April 22 of this month.
The HC passed these orders while dealing with news reports that the historic places like Golconda and Qutub Shahi tombs had been damaged. It made it clear that the state government should not take the issue of the protection of the monuments in a nonserious manner and added that there should be a blueprint to protect the historic monuments. It also expressed its displeasure over the submission of Reports by state and central government on the issue at the last minute on April 12 of this month. The state government told the HC that the State has 27 historic monuments within its limits.
The central government said that a total of 152 illegal structures were built in and around the Golconda fort. The assistant solicitor general of India told the HC that the local police and concerned officials were not taking any action on the issue despite their repeated complaints on the issue. Responding to this the HC said that the removal of the encroachments, development of roads, and provision of electricity should also be an integral part of the action plan of the state government. It later adjourned the case to June 10.