The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has summarily rejected the roads and buildings (R&B) department for building permission of the All India Service (IAS) officers on Road No. 10, Banjara Hills,Hyderabad, which already houses nine building blocks, since the last fifteen years.

Generally, building permission is given by municipal authorities prior to construction. However in this case, the R&B had applied for permission for existing nine buildings (G+3 Floors) in Banjara Hills. These blocks were constructed between 1996 and 1998. With a senior IPS officer filing a case over providing a lift at the IAS/IPS quarters, the R&B had no option but to seek permission from GHMC for the blocks.

The corporation rejects, which implies that the buildings are unauthorized structures. The corporation turned down the R&B request for permission saying that the buildings and lifts were illegal and attract section 636 of the GHMC Act. The corporation chief city planner, in his letter to the R&B department, said the mandatory permission to buildings under section 428 of the GHMC were not obtained and there were violations in the existing building plans and lift provision. Under section 636 of the GHMC Act, the corporation can give a notice to the unauthorized buildings asking the owners or builders to remove such illegal buildings within 24 hours. If they fail to do so, the corporation can demolish them and expenses for demolition can be recovered from the owner or builder. Unlike private properties, the GHMC might not pull them down as they are government properties.

Given the situation, the R&B officials are in a fix. The GHMC officials said the corporation cannot grant permission for existing buildings and the only option is regularization of unauthorized structures. Also, regularization of unauthorized buildings is applicable for private buildings, not those of government's and moreover the Building Regularization Scheme (for receiving applications) was closed in July, 2008.

So what will the R&B do is a question that irks the common man? The question now is will the GHMC bend its rules for the Babu’s, secondly such a massive construction, how did it escape the vigilant GHMC’s eyes, that too for so long,  is also a tricky unsolved issue.