Hyderabad: Justice Juvvadi Sridevi of the Telangana High Court has granted anticipatory bail to P. Ramakrishna Rao, the municipal commissioner, who was charged by the Cyberabad police following a complaint from HYDRA.
The complaint alleged that Rao authorized building permits in the buffer zone of Errakunta Pond located in Bachupally, within Nizampet municipality.
The judge concurred with the argument presented by the Municipal Commissioners Association, which stated that the Telangana government’s b-PASS system had circumvented its authority and assigned the responsibility of approving or denying building permits to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).
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Senior counsel V Surender Rao explained that if a building permit is requested for an area exceeding 1,000 square yards, the case is referred to HMDA.
He emphasized that Ramakrishna Rao was unaware of whether Maps Infra, the builder involved in this case, had obtained the necessary permissions.
The counsel stated that Ramakrishna Rao had notified the HMDA about the builder’s request for permission to construct structures within the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zone of the pond.
Subsequently, the builder received relief from the High Court and proceeded with construction activities.
The judge found no wrongdoing on the part of the municipal commissioner and granted him anticipatory bail, stipulating that he must remain available to investigators.
