Why is state eager to regularize illegal constructions? TS HC tears into govt

Telangana High Court has come down hard on the state government for seeking the reopening of the PIL challenging the Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS).

"Why is the state so eager to regularise all such structures which are constructed in violation of rules? Why is the state showing such leniency towards the lawbreakers?" asked Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan-led division bench was hearing the plea of Advocate General Banda Shivananda. Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy was another member of the bench.

The bench declined the request of Banda Shivananda Prasad to reopen the plea challenging the Telangana government's Building Regularisation Scheme.

Under this scheme, such persons were permitted by the state government to approach the concerned authorities and file applications, seeking regularisation of their properties on payment of requisite fees. Such a process has been stopped as the High Court has closed the PIL.

PIL was filed in 2016 and later this issue was taken to the Supreme Court in 2020. The Supreme Court had impleaded Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh as the respondents. The case is pending before the Supreme Court.

Advocate General Banda Prasad apprised the Chief Justice Court about the new enactment brought in by the Telangana government wherein stringent rules have been promulgated, which will restrain all such citizens who resort to illegal constructions and later approach the authorities for regularisation.

The present interim application is moved to facilitate the citizens, who had constructed without obtaining permissions from authorities and all such constructions are old constructions.

AG informed the Court that the SC is looking into illegal and unapproved layouts. He said Building Regularisation Scheme is not before the Supreme Court. This PIL was closed in the High Court on the premise that the Supreme Court has issued orders in this matter.

Due to the closure of this PIL in the High Court, the entire process of the Building Regularisation Scheme in Telangana has been stopped.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, after hearing the contentions of Advocate General Banda Shivananda declined to reopen the plea observing that it is a very risky issue.

He advised the AG to get a final clarification on this issue. "Prima facie, this Court is not inclined to reopen the same plea for adjudication," he said.

Chief Justice Bhuyan observed that the SC will come down heavily on them.

Adjourning the matter for four weeks, the court directed the Advocate General to get a copy of the clarification issued by the Supreme Court for re-opening the PIL for adjudication. The next hearing has been fixed on Feb 16, 2023.