GHMC asked to file status report on BRS

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been directed by the High Court at Hyderabad to submit a status report on the Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS) introduced by the Telangana State government in November 2015.

The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akthar gave this direction while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by the Forum for Good Governance against the BRS scheme terming it as unconstitutional and as a step that would not help the growth of the city in a planned manner.

The counsel for the petitioner Sivaraj Srinivas informed the court that the GHMC was not taking action even in cases where buildings were being built in an illegal manner without taking any permission whatsoever. He pointed out that such buildings cannot even become eligible for consideration under BRS.

The bench sought to know from the Standing Counsel of GHMC P Kesava Rao as to why the officials were not stopping such illegal constructions and demolishing whatever had been built instead of waiting for them to be completed, He informed the bench that over 1.39 lakh applications had been received by the GHMC seeking benefit under BRS and sought time to complete the process of BRS in another six months.

He said the GHMC is demolishing such structures even now The bench gave two weeks to the GHMC Commissioner to inform the progress made so far and also about the current status of the scheme.