Relief to Nagarjuna: Telangana HC issues interim stay on demolition of N Convention

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court issued an interim order on Saturday afternoon, halting the demolition of the N Convention Center in Madhapur, following a plea from the convention's management.

On Saturday morning, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) began demolishing the N Convention Center, owned by actor Nagarjuna, labelling it an 'encroachment.'

In response, Nagarjuna immediately sought a stay order from the court. Justice T. Vinod Kumar, who is overseeing the case, granted the stay, temporarily halting HYDRAA's actions.

According to HYDRAA officials, the N Convention Center is one of several unauthorised structures removed as part of efforts to protect and develop municipal parks. The convention center, built on 10 acres of land, is located within the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zone, without any building permission.

In 2014, the HMDA issued a preliminary notification regarding the FTL and buffer zones of Tammidikunta Lake, with the final notification issued in 2016.

Following the preliminary notification in 2014, N Convention approached the High Court, which directed that the proper legal process be followed in determining the FTL. A survey was conducted in the presence of the petitioner, M/s N Convention, and the report was communicated to them. In 2017, M/s N Convention challenged the survey report in the Miyapur Additional District Judge Court, but the case has been pending without a stay order being issued.

HYDRAA's statement alleges that N Convention has been manipulating systems and processes to continue its commercial activities through unauthorised structures built within the FTL and buffer zones. The convention center is said to have encroached on 1 acre and 12 guntas of FTL land and 2 acres and 18 guntas of buffer zone land, raising unauthorised structures without building permission from the GHMC.

N Convention attempted to regularise the unauthorised structures under the Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS), but the request was rejected by the authorities.

Officials also noted that unchecked encroachments in and around Tammidikunta Cheruvu and the connecting nalas have caused serious waterlogging issues in the Madhapur and HiTex areas. The capacity of the cheruvu to hold water has shrunk by more than 50-60%, leading to regular inundation during heavy rains, which has severely impacted lower and middle-class households in the lower reaches of the cheruvu, resulting in significant property damage.

Reacting to the demolition of N-Convention, actor Nagarjuna, who owns the venue, has called the action unlawful. In a social media post, Nagarjuna expressed his distress over what he described as an unlawful demolition of N-Convention, which he stated was in direct violation of existing court orders and ongoing legal cases.