HYDERABAD: A decade ago, the Telangana government planned to establish the Municipal Building Tribunal (MBT) to address building-related issues, particularly unauthorized structures. Nearly four years ago, in April 2022, the state government informed the Telangana High Court that the tribunal would be organized within four weeks. However, it remains unestablished amid a surge of unauthorized constructions in the state, especially in Greater Hyderabad.
GHMC officials report that approximately 6,000 cases are pending in various courts, with 80% related to illegal buildings. Many owners or builders have secured stay orders, hindering the town planning wing from demolishing these structures. In the remaining 20% of cases, builders and owners sought court intervention after the GHMC and other civic bodies denied or revoked their permissions or due to land disputes. The High Court noted in 2022 the pressing need for a building tribunal.
The tribunal is proposed to consist of two to three members, including a retired district judge as chairman and one retired municipal town planning officer as a technical member. The High Court will recommend the district judge, while the state government will appoint the technical member. Although names were suggested to the state in 2017, the tribunal has yet to be formed.
Forum For Good Governance (FGG), a non-profit organization, has written numerous letters to chief ministers, municipal ministers, and municipal administration secretaries over the past decade, as well as filed a Public Interest Litigation urging the state government to establish the tribunal.
“Had the state government acted to form the tribunal, an agency like HYDRAA would not be necessary to demolish illegal constructions,” stated FGG president M. Padmanabha Reddy. “Furthermore, previous recommendations included eight names of retired and suspended town planning officials, contradicting Section 462-A of the GHMC Act, 2016, which mandates that the technical member be a serving officer. The government needs to request a new list of qualified individuals, as one recommended member is currently facing investigations for disproportionate assets and several others are under scrutiny.” He emphasized the importance of appointing individuals with integrity and a clean record.
Sources within the municipal administration indicate that the file for setting up the tribunal is currently under review and that appointments are expected within weeks. They are optimistic that the tribunal will soon be operational.
