PIL seeks protection to Irrum Manzil heritage structures

HYDERABAD: A public interest litigation (PIL) petition was filed in the Telangana high court on Monday questioning the decision of the TRS government to demolish heritage buildings at Irrum Manzil. The state is planning to build its new secretariat at Irrum Manzil.
Stating that historical structures must be protected, petitioner J Sankar of Dharmapuri in Jagtial district filed the PIL seeking directions to the state to this effect.Irrum Manzil was built in 1870 by Nawab Safdar Jung Musheer-ud-Daula Fakhrul Mulk and the consent of the heritage committee was essential before demolishing such historical structures, the petitioner said.
Even for carrying out repairs and renovation of these buildings, the nod of the heritage committee was essential, he added. In fact, the state had not even consulted the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), he said. “The state has already decided to lay the foundation for the new secretariat on June 27. Once that is done, then the officials may at any time demolish the old structures here,” the petitioner expressed his apprehension and sought a stay on demolitions at Irrum Manzil.
In a separate development, senior counsel S Satyam Reddy made a mention before a bench headed by Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan urging him to take up a three-year-old PIL filed by Congress leader T Jeevan Reddy that questioned the state’s move to demolish structures at the existing secretariat to pave way for new ones.
“Most blocks in the current secretariat are relatively new ones which have a life of another 100 years and hence need not be demolished. It is not a prudent decision to demolish them and waste Rs 600 crore public money for raising new structures there,” he said. The state had earlier assured the HC that it would not demolish the structures, but now it was going ahead to do the same, Satyam Reddy said. The bench assured him that it would hear the plea on June 28.