No construction of any kind allowed in protected Khajaguda site: Telangana High Court

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court in an order dated April 7, 2022, stated that no construction of any kind should be allowed in the protected heritage site of the Khajaguda Hills.

The Society to Save Rocks, a society registered under the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Public Societies Registration Act filed a petition saying that in spite of an interim order by the High Court dated 24.07.2019, the destruction of heritage rock forms is still taking place, which is contrary to the provisions of the Telangana Heritage Protection, Preservation, Conservation, and Maintenance Act, 2017.

“It is further clarified that no construction of any kind shall take place in respect of the area, which is the subject matter of the present PIL, and in respect of rock forms, which find a place in the schedule attached to the Act,” the court said in its order.

The court also ordered the state government, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department, the department of youth advancement, tourism and culture, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Telangana State Heritage Committee, The Greater Hyderabad Heritage and Precincts Committee to file a counter affidavit in the span of six weeks.

The Court in its interim order on July 24, 2019, had asked the respondents along with the HMDA and the Rangareddy district collector whether any comprehensive plan has been formulated by them for preserving the rock forms and the boulders throughout the city, and the surrounding area of the city.

Only the HMDA and the Rangareddy district collector filed a counter on this in the court.

Also Read

Hyderabad: HMDA begins survey of Khajaguda rocks for fencing

Activists and concerned citizens have already organized a series of protests against the destruction of rocks. They have also set up display boards in English and Telugu at the heritage site of Khajaguda Hills on Sunday citing the order of the Telangana High Court from 2019.