Telangana HC hears plea against Metro alignment through Old City heritage zones

The Telangana High Court continued hearing petitions against the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase‑II alignment through Old City heritage precincts, with petitioners alleging lack of statutory approvals and seeking alternative routes. The matter was adjourned to August 27, 2026.

By Our Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday continued hearing a batch of petitions challenging the alignment of Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II, Corridor-VI, through the Old City’s notified heritage precincts and posted the matter to August 27 for further hearing.

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The petitions challenge the proposed Metro Rail alignment through the Charminar and Falaknuma heritage precincts, alleging that construction is being undertaken without a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment and the statutory approvals required under the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017 and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The petitioners also seek consideration of an alternative alignment to protect several notified heritage structures.

During the hearing, the State informed the Court that it had filed a detailed affidavit setting out the status of permissions relating to the project, while the petitioners filed a reply disputing the State’s stand. The respondents also brought to the Court’s notice that the Supreme Court had earlier declined to interfere with the High Court’s interim orders.

Counsel for the petitioners contended that an independent Commissioner may be appointed to assess the impact of the ongoing Metro Rail works on the heritage structures situated along the proposed alignment. After hearing the submissions of all parties, the Bench posted the batch of petitions to August 27, 2026 for further consideration.