GHMC Buildings Tribunal Bill Passed

The Telangana Legislative Assembly today passed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Buildings Tribunal Bill.

Introducing the Bill in the House earlier on Wednesday, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao said that Greater Hyderabad from now onward would be developed meticulously.

However road widening works would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, he cautioned.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was keen on enabling the weaker sections to construct houses without spending a dime, the Minister said, and added that the Tribunal Bill was purely meant to curb construction of unauthorized buildings and not for ill-motives. He also said that the aggrieved parties could challenge the Tribunal decisions in High Court.

Stressing the urgent need to reform the Town Planning department, the Minister said that the government had already recruited 120 officials to the department, and 84 additional staff would be appointed soon to improve its functioning.

KTR also said that as part of the slum clearance program in the city, new houses would replace the shanties with the consent of the owners of 30 and 20 yard houses.

Later, the House approved the Bill without any amendments.