HC Clears Way For Secretariat Buildings Demolition

In a major reprieve for the state government, the Telangana High Court today paved the way for the demolition of the Secretariat buildings by quashing all the petitions seeking stay orders.

The Centre informed the court that no environmental clearance was required for the demolition of any buildings.

Advocate General B S Prasad had earlier informed the court that the government had obtained permission from the GHMC for the demolition of the buildings. He had also said that environmental permission was required for the construction of new buildings and not for demolition, and that the government would get environmental clearance from the Centre to construct the new buildings.

Upon getting all the above information, and with the Supreme Court too declining to intervene in state policy matters, the High Court refused to stay the demolition.

The court was ruling in a petition to stall the demolition of the buildings in the Secretariat complex by TJS leader P L Vishweshwar Rao who had urged the court to prevent the environmental pollution being caused by demolition works, which he claimed was also against norms.

The National Green Tribunal is also to hear a case against the demolition next Monday, and is most likely to follow suit.

With the ruling today, the government can now move swiftly to remove old buildings and build new structures as planned.

The KCR government is planning a new Secretariat complex at a cost of about Rs 500 crore. The opposition parties are opposing the government on the issue calling it a wasteful expenditure in these Covid times.