Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday, February 27, issued notice to the government over the alignment of the Old City metro project in Hyderabad.
The High Court has granted three weeks for the government to respond to a public interest litigation filed by Y Rahim Khan, president of Act Public Welfare Foundation, an NGO.
The petitioner argued that the proposed alignment would damage several heritage structures and urged the court to halt the project until a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment is conducted and statutory approvals are secured under the Telangana Heritage Act and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958.
Khan claimed that heritage sites including Purani Haveli, Azakhana-e-Zehra, Jama Masjid, Darulshifa and Moghalpura Tomb would be adversely affected.
He sought directives to ensure strict compliance with heritage laws and requested a stay on approvals for infrastructure projects within a 200-metre radius of these sites. He also urged the court to impose a moratorium on all development activities in these protected zones.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara declined to issue immediate interim orders, stating that the respondents must be heard first.
It directed Advocate General A Sudharshan Reddy to submit the state government’s response within three weeks.
The petitioner was instructed to file a rejoinder within two weeks of receiving the government’s affidavit.
The case was adjourned to April 3.
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