Times of India: Hyderabad: Sunday,
December 11, 2016.
Satyanarayana
Singh, who rose from a petty arrack seller to a local builder with political
connections, is suspected to have at least three more illegal projects in the
Nanakramguda area. Investigators said he had bribed his way into constructing
in congested areas as he was well aware that he wouldn't get permissions from
the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
At least 50
persons may have died in the last five years from house collapses across the
city, but when it comes to taking action against corrupt officials, precious
little is done. If authorities had cracked the whip on 19 officials found
guilty of condoning illegalities in 698 buildings within one kilometre of the
Nanakramguda building collapse site, Satyanarayana may have thought twice
before going ahead with his illegal ways.
A 34-page
vigilance report submitted to the Telangana government in April 2015, detailed
how allegedly corrupt officials--11 from the panchayat raj department and eight
from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA)--allowed illegal
constructions in the jurisdictions of the Manikonda and Narsingi panchayats at
Gandipet mandal in Ranga Reddy district. Although `penalty proceedings' were
recommended, they continue to remain unpunished.
"Despite
the vigilance report nailing them, no action has been taken against these
errant officials as illegal constructions continue in 20 colonies," rued
city-based RTI activist P Suresh, who has been pursuing the case ever since he
got his hands on a copy of the report. It was found that the tainted officials
permitted one extra floor for 220 buildings, two for 186 buildings, three for
42 buildings, and over three for six buildings, with 244 standalone buildings
being completely illegal. The colony of Panchavati tops the list with 104 such
buildings within its jurisdiction, followed by Secretariat with 56, Hanuman
Nagar with 35, Huda with 34, Po chamma and Sri Laxmi Nagar with 18 each and
Laxmi Nagar with 15.
When STOI
contacted Ranga Reddy district panchayat officer K Padhmaja, seeking the status
of action taken against the department's 11 errant officials, she said,
"We have drafted articles of charges against those named in the vigilance
report. However, I am not the competent authority to take action against
them."
Based on
their ranks, disciplinary action against these officials can be taken either by
the commissioner of Telangana's panchayat raj department, or the Ranga Reddy
district collector. Neither have intervened.
The HMDA,
too, has not cracked the whip on eight of its officials nailed by the vigilance
report, despite com missioner T Chiranjeevulu's claim of `some action' having
been taken. He, however, could not explain the nature of the action and why the
issue was swept under the rug after HMDA appointed enquiry officer S
Balakrishna in April this year.
GHMC
authorities said they would verify the structural stability of all buildings in
the region, including the ones built by Singh, and would seal those not in
compliance with building rules. Also, over 50 of the corporation's officials
have been caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) this year.
On the latest
crash, chief city planner S Devender Reddy said, "We will verify every
aspect of the case as we suspect the builder might have built many more
buildings."
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