The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has established a Special Task Force (STF) to regulate unabated unapproved buildings in the city to inspect and initiate action on all ongoing constructions, including demolition. The STF has the power to seal the construction of illegal structures. 

The task force will have outsourced engineers from the National Construction Academy (NAC), who will regularly inspect buildings and submit an STF-level report. Town planning officers are not included in the inspections. 

GHMC Special Task Force on Illegal Structures 

A recent note on constituting the STF and directives has been released by GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar. Official sources have said that the TS-bPASS Act 2020 provides for the establishment of special teams to curb unauthorized structures. Telangana State building permits approval and self-certification system. 

In the first few phases, the STF will stop and demolish illegal constructions if the owners do not accept permission or violate construction rules. The zonal level is being trained in the inspection process and in writing panchanamas for special team members, in particular, engineers.  

The STF zonal level is led by a zonal commissioner of the respective zones and the zone superintendent and DCP (Law and order) members, as well as the nodal officer of a GHMC joint commissioner or deputy commissioner, whose names are served on owners of illegal buildings.  

The GHMC Commissioner has indicated that at least once in 15 days from the construction phase of the NAC, engineers were appointed for periodic inspections and that he was sending reports to the zonal-level nodal officer for action.

By: Shailaja K