The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : New hotels: norms being bypassed?

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Thursday, May 10, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

New hotels: norms being bypassed?

V.Geetanath

Case of Minerva Enterprises' plans for a hotel cited

HYDERABAD: Conscious of the acute shortage of hotel rooms in the twin cities, the Government and its Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department appear to be in a tearing hurry to push through pending projects for star hotels.

In the melee, they seem to be overlooking the stipulated norms in an arbitrary manner making one wonder why the same benefit cannot be passed on to common people.

Minerva Enterprises is one among the several private parties vying to take up hotel construction and had applied for permission to build ground plus eight floors with three cellars in December 2005.

The plan for the four-star hotel in Kavadiguda was, however, rejected since the promoter did not take provisional permits from the Airports Authority of India, Fire Services and others. Besides, the identified site was under a residential zone hence commercial buildings cannot be allowed.

After a while, the promoter applied again last year on taking all the necessary clearances from the Fire Services, AAI, Revenue Department, water board and the likes. Clearance from the Joint Collector for urban land ceiling is still pending, though.

Land use pattern

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) could not clear it as the land use pattern has not changed and new building rules of 2006 (GOMS.86) had also come into force.

Since hotels can be allowed in residential zones if there is a registration as a tourism unit by the department concerned as per an official order, the promoter saw a way out.

The Tourism Department in a carefully worded letter in March this year gave provisional clearance for two years but "not conferring any right to claim any benefits or concessions." It was also subject to obtaining necessary approvals from "all competent authorities".

`Memo' sent

Following which, in an official `memo' sent in March 13 this year, the MA & UD Principal Secretary has permitted the Commissioner to process the building application as per GO MS.423 (old building regulations) because as he himself had put it "new building rules do not allow multi-storied buildings in the above area"!

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