The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : SCB cracks whip on ‘Old grant bungalows’

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Friday, Aug 03, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

SCB cracks whip on ‘Old grant bungalows’

Issues notices for illegal land conversion

42 of the 142 ‘Old grant bungalows’ targeted in phase-I
Occupants will have to pay Rs. 1 lakh as fine for violation

HYDERABAD: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), which had announced its intent to act tough against illegal conversion of ‘Old grant bungalows’ into commercial buildings a few days ago, started sending notices to occupants of 20 such bungalows on Thursday.

Chief Executive Officer V. Premchand signed the notices and the same were pasted on the walls of some of the posh function palaces and restaurants by SCB teams later in the day.

Though there were murmurs about ‘delay’ in sending the notices, the authorities were only taking time to get their legal position right.

Forty-two of the 142 old grant bungalows were targeted in the first phase.

The notices were issued under Section 244 of the Cantonment Act where any change of purpose of the building or land without the SCB permission was punishable.The old grant bungalows’ occupants will have to pay Rs. 1 lakh as fine for converting residences given for free by the erstwhile Britishers into commercial properties illegally and also Rs. 10,000 per day from the date of issue of the notices.

Vanished

The notice also directs them to immediately revert the buildings back to their original residential status. Interestingly, the Union Government can take over the buildings “whenever it wants” or if there is an “illegal conversion”.

SCB which has been sleeping over the issue for years has also realised much to its shock that at some of the places the old bungalows have totally vanished and in their place swank eating places and commercial complexes had come up like on the Medchal road.

Saving land

If the belated decision by SCB has set a cat among the pigeons with many occupants still unable to believe that action is imminent, officials claim to have at least ensured the precious land was not lost at all. “These lands belong to the Government of India and it is only a matter of time before it reverts back,” remarks an official. To buttress his point, he alludes to the Agreement of Rendition signed between the British and the Nizam of Hyderabad in December 1, 1945 where many properties, 36 old grant bungalows, were transferred to the latter and after Independence to the State Government. Properties on R.P. Road, M.G. Road, till the old Gandhi Hospital belonged to the Cantonment and officials are not too sure if the lands transactions are above board.

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