HC issues notice to govt over demolition of Khusro Manzil

Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Saturday issued notices to the principal secretary of municipal administration, GHMC, HMDA, and police authorities over the demolition of Khusro Manzil.

Asking the reason behind the demolition of a heritage building, a bench comprising of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili gave six weeks’ time to the concerned authorities to reply.

The notices were issued while hearing a plea filed by Bala Ramachandram and four others of Residents Hill View Colony.

In the plea, the petitioners raise questions over the demolition of the heritage building. Their counsel P Krishna Keerthana not only sought the restoration of the heritage building but also the imposition of penalty on the officials responsible for the demolition.

Khusro Manzil

Khusro Manzil which was built in 1920 was the residence of Khusro Jung Bahadur who was the Chief Commanding Officer of the forces of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

The building was located at Lakdikapul and was classified as a Grade III heritage structure under HUDA (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority) guidelines.

A portion of the building was demolished in 2021 and recently, it was completely turned into debris.

Errum Manzil

Another important heritage structure, Errum Manzil was in news a few years back when the Telangana government had decided to demolish the historical building for the construction of a new Assembly building.

It was the high court of Telangana that had directed the state government not to demolish the heritage building.

The building was built by Nawab Fakhrul Mulk, a nobleman of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. Currently, the palace houses offices of the Engineers-in-chief and the Chief Engineers of the Roads and Buildings and Irrigation/ Command Area Development Departments.