Hyderabad: City pubs will no longer play music beyond 10 pm to 6 am, the Telangana high court passed interim orders on Monday. It also questioned city pub owners on how they were allowed to operate near residential places.
According to the City Police Act and the Noise Pollution Regulation and Control Act, loudspeakers are allowed only up to the specified time and decibel limit. However, many pubs are clearly violating the law.
The city police will be launching several awareness programmes against noise pollution following several complaints.
The high court also directed the Commisheonersdof Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police to file a report within two weeks over the action initiated against pubs violating the court’s orders.
The interim order was passed by Justice Laliktha Kanneganti while hearing a writ petition of 2021 filed by Jubilee Hills Residents Clean and Green Association and two others.
The judge also enquired with the state’s counsel if the all pubs had the permission of the police to play loud music.
It is to be noted that the excise department is in charge of licensing pubs and bars in the state whereas the entertainment permissions are issued by the police.
The court stated that it is also crucial to understand if the police were satisfied with the pub and bar owners’ observance of the rules during their inspections.
The judge stated that anyone applying for a licence to operate such a business must receive a NOC from the Fire Services Department as well as a trade licence from the local government. This is in addition to the building’s or location’s authorised blueprint copy from the Town Planning department.
The judge gave the GHMC Commissioner instructions to inform the court if all requirements for the issue of trade permits were satisfied by the relevant authorities.
The order was passed on Monday, however, until the time of publishing the article, the police had received no notice from the court over the same.
