R&B in soup over room demolition

HYDERABAD: They seem to lecture the ‘aam admi’ to follow norms but when it comes to themselves all rules are just given a pass. In clear violations of rules, the Roads and Buildings department has dismantled a room in one of the buildings at the IAS/IPS quarters in Road No 10, Banjara Hills to make way for a lift- which had become a bone of contention among a group of officers.This despite the fact the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had declared all the blocks as unauthorised and the existing lifts as illegal.Sources disclosed to Express that R&B officials led by its executive engineer Sudhakar went to the quarters on November 4 and dismantled the additional room to make way for the lift.Senior IPS officer Rajiv Trivedi was residing in the quarter and the dispute arose over construction of the lift with five other officers- D Kadmiel, Sudershan Reddy, both IAS officers, K Sreenivasa Reddy and Ravi Gupta, both IPS officers and Manoranjan Bhanja, an IFS officer.Trivedi, however, moved out to another quarter elsewhere recently.The long standing feud between officers had been over dismantling of the additional room and the matter even reached the state government and later Trivedi approached the Court.Presently, the same quarter has been allotted to another IPS officer Amit Garg, who has not moved in.By the time a notice for dismantling the room was served, the room was already dismantled on November 4.Recently, the GHMC wrote to R&B officials clearly stating all blocks in the IAS/IPS quarters were unauthorised and no permission was taken before construction of the buildings.It further said the lifts set up in other blocks were also illegal and in violation of the National Building Code.“This will amount to contempt of court.Now that Trivedi has shifted, perhaps, the officials feel no one will petition the court for contempt,” sources said.The GHMC also said that even for providing lifts, permissions are required to existing buildings under various rules.However, after the civic body turned down the request to regularise the blocks, the sudden dismantling of the room to make way for the lift came as a surprise.When contacted, R&B executive engineer Sudhakar, who supervised the dismantling said: “I just took over 30 days back and I do not know much.”