Hyderabad civic body withdraws show cause and closure notices issued to trade houses in residential areas

HYDERABAD: Admitting that its officials quoted wrong provisions of law while issuing notices, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Monday informed the court that it is withdrawing all the show-cause and closure notices issued to the business, industrial and trade houses in Sastrypuram and Tatanagar areas located in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Advocate general BS Prasad informed this to a bench of chief justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and justice B Vijaysen Reddy, that was hearing more than 700 petitions filed by the aggrieved traders.The bench while declaring the pleas as infructuous in view of the decision of the authorities to withdraw them, however, gave liberty to them to issue fresh notices quoting the correct provisions of law. If the trade is not permitted in a residential area, say so. But do not say that it is a polluting industry. If it is a tiles godown, say so. But don't say that they are burning tiles. No tiles trader would burn them, the bench said.
While pointing out that the officials issued these notices without going to the site. The bench, however, made it clear that the notices issued by pollution control board clearly pointing out polluting industries would remain intact and the hearing in such cases would continue.
The bench also asked the authorities to lie low for a while because Coronavirus pandemic is playing havoc with the lives of the people and the authorities should not do anything that would aggravate the woes of the people. Pushpender kaur, the counsel who has been fighting for the residents in the areas of Sastrypuram and Tatanagar, wanted the court to fix a time frame for the GHMC officials to act in the matter. We are in the eye of a storm, let the Covid-19 be over, the CJ said before adjourning the case.