Dilapidated structures in GHMC areas under watch

Issues prior notices to owners to vacate the premises and facilitate demolition

Hyderabad: With heavy rains lashing the city and a couple of wall collapse incidents occurring in the last two days, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to increase its surveillance of old structures and take up demolition of dilapidated structures that pose a threat.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao had directed the municipal corporation to check old buildings and shift the residents in dilapidated structures.

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Accordingly, the municipal corporation is focusing on the aged structures that are in dilapidated condition. On Monday night, the Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams demolished an old building at Aliabad, Charminar. Based on appeals by local town planning wing officials, the DRF teams are clearing the old buildings to avoid any untoward incidents.

Every monsoon season, the town planning wing identifies dilapidated buildings and demolishes them. In this regard, GHMC issues prior notices to the owners to vacate the premises and facilitate demolition of the structures. This year, nearly 120 old buildings have been cleared till date and about 90 structures, which were partially damaged, were repaired by the owners.

The municipal corporation has identified 377 structures during the current year in addition to the 316 structures that were identified for demolition and carried forward from previous year. As a precautionary measure, notices were being served to owners of unsafe buildings and efforts being made to get them vacated.

Emphasis was laid on compound walls and the civic body officials were directed to demolish old and weak structures, if the owners desist from clearing such walls.

“More old buildings were to be demolished but due to incessant rains since last couple of months, works got delayed,” said the official.

During the last four years, the municipal corporation has razed nearly 1,400 old and dilapidated structures across the city. Further, instructions have been issued to assistant city planners to focus on cellar excavations in the city. The municipal corporation has already imposed a ban on cellar excavations in the city.

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