Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, May 7, declined to entertain a petition challenging the proposed demolition of a World War II memorial near Parade Grounds in Secunderabad, directing the petitioner to first submit a representation before the authorities concerned.
The petitioner, J Rama Krishna, a former Secunderabad Cantonment Board member, had moved court claiming the memorial was at risk of being razed for a proposed elevated corridor between Paradise Junction and Hakimpet along Rajiv Rahadaari. The petition was filed as a public interest litigation (PIL) and was still at the scrutiny stage following objections raised by the registry.
Citing a report published by the Times of India in February 2018, Rama Krishna told the court that approximately 20.5 metre of Parade Grounds land abutting the road to Tivoli Junction was to be acquired for the project, and that officials had marked the memorial platform as a temporary benchmark for land acquisition.
He said the memorial was built in 1950 to honour soldiers from the erstwhile Hyderabad princely state who laid down their lives in World War II. It bears inscriptions in four languages – English, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi – and the petitioner submitted photographs in support of his claims.
The state counsel, however, told the court that there were no plans to demolish the structure. Relocation proposals were being discussed among the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and the Cantonment Board and defence authorities, and the structure would not be disturbed until all stakeholders reached a final decision, the counsel assured.
The bench said it was not convinced, based on the evidence on record and the state’s response, that any demolition was imminent. It also questioned why the petitioner had not registered a formal grievance with the authorities before approaching the court.The court directed Rama Krishna to file a detailed representation and submit a copy before it, and adjourned the matter until after the summer vacation.
