Telangana HC hears writ plea challenging proposal of GHMC jurisdiction expansion

This expansion plan would integrate several municipalities, municipal corporations, and gram panchayats into the GHMC’s administrative framework.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court today heard a writ plea challenging the recent administrative Memo issued on July 27, which proposes an extension of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) jurisdiction to cover areas up to the Outer Ring Road (ORR). This expansion plan would integrate several municipalities, municipal corporations, and gram panchayats into the GHMC’s administrative framework. The petitioner contended that the Memo, which outlines the proposed jurisdictional changes, was issued without adequate consultation with the residents of the affected areas. The writ plea was filed by four former Sarpanches of the gram panchayats of the villages i.e Chinna Golkonda, Pedda Golkonda, Hameedullahnagar, Bahadurguda, Rasheedguda of Shamshabad Mandal, Ranga Reddy District. The said villages are proposed for merging in nearby municipal corporations. It was the case of the petitioner that the memo issued for the said proposal is illegal and violative of principals of natural justice. Senior Counsel V. Raghunath, representing the petitioners, argued that primarily agricultural communities in these villages would lose important benefits under state and central government schemes, such as employment guarantees for agricultural labourers, which are unavailable in municipalities. He also contended that the proposal was made based on representations from individuals not connected to the villages, and without consulting the local gram panchayats. The judge after hearing the said submissions directed notices to Municipal Administration & Urban Development, The Mandal Parshad Development Officer, GHMC and others and posted the case after 6 weeks for their response.

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Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice C.V. Bhasker of the Telangana High Court has deferred the hearing of a writ petition filed by Stanley College of Engineering and Technology for Women. The college is challenging the current counselling and seat allotment process for engineering courses, which it claims is unfair and contrary to regulations. The petition disputes the action of the respondents, who have limited the counselling and allotment of seats to just 300. Stanley College argues that this restriction, specifically affecting seats in B.E. programs for Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), CSE with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and CSE with AI, is both unlawful and inconsistent with the Extension of Approval (EOA) granted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for the academic year 2024-2025. The judge considering the said submissions directed the Education Department, Osmania University and all the concerned authorities to submit their response by the next date of hearing and posted the matter to August 27.

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Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court addressed a writ plea pertaining to administration of oath to a newly appointed trust board member of the Sri Ramachandraji Hanuman Temple in Seetharambagh. The case, brought before the court by K. Sanjay Kumar, challenges the inaction of the Assistant Commissioner of the Endowment Department in fulfilling this duty despite receiving approval from the Commissioner of the Endowment Department. K. Sanjay Kumar’s petition asserts that he was officially appointed as a member of the temple’s trust board for the term from July 2024 to July 2025. This appointment was sanctioned by the Commissioner of the Endowment Department, who subsequently directed the Assistant Commissioner to administer the oath of office. According to Kumar, a memo was issued by the Assistant Commissioner scheduling the oath-taking ceremony for August 7. However, the authorities failed to attend the venue on that date, resulting in no oath being administered. Kumar further claims that despite submitting two representations to the Endowment authorities seeking action, his requests have not been addressed, leading him to seek judicial intervention. His counsel argued that the continued delay and lack of action have deprived him of his official duties and responsibilities. Justice NV Shravan Kumar, after reviewing the petition, has directed the state’s counsel to obtain necessary instructions from the Endowment authorities regarding the matter and adjourned the case for further hearing.