Hyderabad: With pre-monsoon showers already drenching parts of the city, GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan has issued urgent orders to tackle the threat posed by dangerous buildings across Hyderabad.
In a high-level video meeting on Thursday evening, Karnan told zonal commissioners and town planning teams to waste no time in sealing unstable structures and shifting residents to safety. Makeshift repairs, he warned, are strictly off the table.
“Accountability is non-negotiable,” Karnan said, making it clear that area officers would face consequences if lives are lost due to negligence around already-flagged buildings.
The Commissioner was blunt: families living in unsafe homes must be moved out immediately, and neighbours alerted to the risks. “Don’t wait for tragedy,” he told officials, urging them to seize any structure deemed a serious hazard.
He also appealed to property owners not to obstruct safety efforts. “Cooperate. Don’t patch up cracks and call it fixed,” he said, adding that new cellar construction is now banned citywide until the end of the rainy season starting 30 May.
For existing cellars, the Commissioner ordered that barricades and retaining walls be reinforced in line with safety norms, and stagnant water prevented. Notices will go out to violators.
So far, 428 buildings have been marked as structurally unsound by GHMC. Of these, 131 may be repairable. The remaining 297 are under scrutiny, with evacuation notices served and demolitions being planned.
Karnan instructed officials to fast-track surveys on both ageing buildings and ongoing cellar excavations. Any construction flouting safety codes will face immediate legal action.
Zonal commissioners Anurag Jayanti, Hemant Keshav Patil, Apoorva Chauhan, Ravi Kiran, and Venkanna joined the review, along with senior planning officials including Srinivas, Gangadhar, and others from GHMC headquarters.