Hyderabad : The petitioner argued that GHMC issued the permission without following due procedure and without properly examining safety norms.
Tall 35-floor Abids tower in Hyderabad with cityscape background.
A 35-floor tower coming up beside the historic Moazzam Jahi Market in the heart of Hyderabad has drawn sharp questions from the Telangana High Court, which wondered how a project of such scale was cleared in the first place.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy made the observation on Tuesday, October 13, while hearing a petition against the Meenakshi Elysia project at Gunfoundry in Abids.
The judge said the size of the project warranted close examination, given its impact on a congested urban locality. He noted that the project comprises 35 floors, along with two cellar levels and five additional levels.
The petition was filed by the Society for Crusade against Corruption. It challenges the permission granted by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in August 2022 to Meenakshi Infrastructure Private Limited and seeks a direction to stop further construction.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that GHMC issued the permission without following due procedure and without properly examining safety norms. This, the counsel said, puts the proposed structure and the surrounding areas at serious risk.
The counsel also told the court that violations had taken place during construction. He informed the bench that another writ petition on the same issue is already pending before the High Court.
The respondents’ detailed counter was not part of the proceedings placed before the court, according to the report. The project is being executed on the strength of the municipal permission issued in 2022.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Reddy directed the High Court registry to tag the connected writ petition with the present case. The matter has been adjourned to Thursday, October 29, for further hearing.
