Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) has suspended a Town Planning Building Officer (TPBO) after an unauthorised under-construction building collapsed in Anjaiah Nagar, Gachibowli, on Saturday, August 22.
According to an order issued by the Commissioner of CMC on August 22, U Santosh Kumar, TPBO, Circle 50, Madhapur, CMC, was placed under suspension with immediate effect.
The order said the unauthorised building, consisting of Ground + 6 upper floors and a penthouse, collapsed in Gachibowli, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy district.
Officer failed to stop unauthorised construction, says CMC
The CMC order said the building was being constructed illegally and Santosh Kumar had failed to stop the unauthorised construction, resulting in loss of life and endangering public safety.
Disciplinary proceedings against the officer have been contemplated. He will remain under suspension until the conclusion.
CMC seeks criminal case
In a separate communication, the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation’s Assistant City Planner, Circle 50, Madhapur, requested the Raidurgam Police Station to register a criminal case against Farheen Siddiq and Md Sajid in connection with the building collapse.
The letter was addressed to the Station House Officer of Raidurgam Police Station and requested action under the appropriate provisions of law. The CMC also asked the police to inform the municipal corporation about the action taken in the matter.
The CMC letter stated that notices had already been issued to the owners on June 17, 2026. The documents referred to both a show-cause notice and speaking orders issued by the Town Planning Section.
According to the CMC, Farheen Siddiq and Md Sajid constructed the building without obtaining the required building permission and without maintaining the prescribed setbacks.
The municipal corporation further stated that the owners were responsible for carrying out construction without the required permissions and in violation of prescribed norms.
The Assistant City Planner enclosed the relevant notices, incident report and photographs of the site after the collapse with the communication to the police.
Two killed in Gachibowli building collapse
At least two persons were killed when the seven-storey under-construction building collapsed. Their bodies were recovered from the debris.
The deceased were identified as Mahtab and Umesh, migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh.
The collapse also damaged a neighbouring apartment complex in the Whitefields area.
According to reports, the building was constructed on a plot measuring around 50 to 60 square yards.
Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath inspected the site and said the building was constructed on a nala. “The structure had seven-plus-one floors, making it almost an eight-storey building, and was constructed on about 60 square yards of space,” he said.
He immediately ordered a special drive to identify similar structures around Anjaya Nagar.
