Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to make it mandatory for building permissions to be displayed at construction sites across the city, including on smaller plots that are otherwise exempted from the requirement.
According to a Times of India report, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy passed the order while hearing a case involving alleged misuse of the self-certification route under the Telangana Building Permission Approval and Self-Certification System (TS-bPASS) Act, 2020, calling it a “disturbing trend.” The court directed GHMC, along with the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation, to instruct all deputy commissioners and town planning officers to ensure permissions are displayed at sites, failing which construction must be halted until compliance.
As an immediate step, the judge ordered inspections of ongoing construction in the Siddamber Bazaar and Begum Bazaar circles, with instructions to stop any unauthorised work and submit a compliance report to the court. The court also ordered the sealing of a ground-plus-five structure in Siddamber Bazaar, built without valid permissions.
The order came on a petition filed by Raj Kumar, a Siddamber Bazaar-based businessman, who accused GHMC of inaction on his applications to regularise additional floors in his building under Sections 455-A and 455-AA of the GHMC Act. GHMC opposed the plea, telling the court that Kumar’s applications had already been rejected over deficiencies and violations, and that construction had continued despite show-cause notices and a speaking order dated August 5.
According to GHMC, Kumar claimed ownership of 114.14 square yards of land but sought building permission for only 43.29 square metres in his own name, while splitting the remaining portions among three other parties. The civic body alleged this was done to avail of the Rs 1 token-fee provision under TS-bPASS, which applies to plots under 75 square yards, and to sidestep mandatory setback norms.
The court held the petition untenable, noting that only ground-plus-two floors are permissible on a plot of that size, and that filing a regularisation application does not create a vested right, particularly with a civil suit over the property pending without interim protection.
The order adds to a string of recent High Court interventions over GHMC’s handling of unauthorised construction. Earlier this year, Justice K Lakshman had flagged that GHMC’s town planning wing needed clearer powers under TS-bPASS, pointing to sealed properties being illegally reopened and over 2.75 lakh related cases pending before the court.
GHMC has periodically announced enforcement drives, including the demolition of 439 illegal structures over three months in 2024 and the formation of zonal special task forces to act on unauthorised buildings, but complaints of large-scale construction violations, particularly involving additional floors built beyond sanctioned plans, have persisted across the city.
This post was last modified on September 10, 2026 9:53 am
