HC asks state authorities to appear before court in Hill Fort Palace preservation row

Hyderabad: Aggrieved over the state's failure to comply with the orders of the Telangana High Court, the Chief Justice Bench directed the secretary of the state finance department, Managing director of Telangana State Travel and Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., and the commissioners of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to appear before the court on 22 November.

On 1 November, the High Court Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V Bhaskar Reddy heard the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Hyderabad Heritage Trust, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad represented by its founder and managing trustee Deepak Kant Gir seeking to declare the action of the respondents in neither taking up nor permitting the petitioner to take up the revival of notified heritage monument Hill Fort Palace.

The petitioners demanded that the government of Telangana take up repairs of the structure or allow the Hyderabad Heritage Trust to preserve the same. The representations were sent on 8 August 2019 and 24 September 2019.

Special GP Andapally Sanjeev Kumar informed the court that under the compliance of the High Court order to renovate the Hill Fort Palace Ritz Hotel, Hyderabad, the state finance department has requested item-wise details of estimation to grant Rs. 50 crores.

Further, the special GP requested the court to give another four weeks to submit the report, which is being prepared.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan pointed out that the court failed to understand why the high-level committee has not accorded details to the court and why despite repeated orders from the court, the officials concerned have ignored and not felt the required urgency.

Aggrieved over the request of the special GP for further time and the concerned officials for not complying with the earlier orders of the High Court, the Chief Justice Bench directed the secretary of the state finance department, managing director of Telangana State Travel and Tourism Development Corporation Ltd, and the commissioners of GHMC and HMDA to be present physically before the court on 22 November at 10:30 a.m.

For further hearing, the matter was adjourned to 22 November