Danam continues to slam officials, demands that there should not be selective demolition

Some officials, acting on their own initiative, have been undertaking certain tasks. They seem to consider themselves above authority, but officials must operate under the government's direction and adhere to its policies, he stated.

Hyderabad: Courting controversy Khairthabad MLA Danam Nagender stated that bureaucrats should not be given full freedom as it could dethrone an elected government.

A few officials under suo moto were taking up a few works. They consider themselves supreme but officials should be under government’s control. They should work according to the government’s policy, he said.

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A day after officials demolished a few establishments on the pavements at Chintal Basthi in his constituency, the Khairthabad MLA came down heavily on them.

Speaking to media persons at Adarsh Nagar here on Thursday, Danam Nagender said “When we work under bureaucracy, such government’s get bad name. How are bureaucrats connected, they work here and are posted to another place. They do not have any responsibility and only elected public representatives have responsibility,”

The turncoat MLA was also critical of the officials’ attitude towards demolishing structures belonging to the poor. There cannot be a selective approach. If the officials were concerned about encroachments and clearing such structures, let them commence such exercises from the old city, he demanded.

“How can there be differentiation in implementation of rules? In the past, when Kumari aunty’s food stall was being demolished at Madhapur, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had directed officials not to interfere and spare her stall. Similar instructions should be issued to the officials here (Chintal Basthi),” Danam Nagender said.

Officials should issue notification before demolishing structures in advance. Many building owners claim to have left space for pedestrians but the same was being used for parking. Officials should target such structures and spare petty vendors and their stalls, he said.

When people face any inconvenience or problems, they approach elected representatives and it was our responsibility to address their issues. Due to unilateral decisions being taken by officials, people were spending sleepless nights. MLAs were also under a lot of pressure and unable to visit different areas in the constituency, he said, adding that any action in which poor people’s assets were demolished would not be tolerated.

The Khairthabad MLA reiterated that he was not against HYDRAA and welcomed the Chief Minister’s Musi rejuvenation project.