Hyderabad: Bringing closure to a 17-year legal battle, Telangana high court has directed the state govt to provide 2BHK houses to families displaced from the Bhimrao Bada slum in Nampally, offering long-awaited relief to residents who claimed they were evicted after the area’s slum status was withdrawn in 2008.Justice S Chalapathi Rao passed the order in Jan this year, which came to light recently, while disposing of a petition filed by K Bharati and 70 other residents of Bhimrao Bada.The court directed that each petitioner be allotted a house in the 2BHK housing colony at Kollur in Patancheru mandal of Sangareddy district. It further observed that the allotments should be made within the same block.The court ordered the authorities to ensure the availability of basic infrastructure, including water supply, drainage facilities and lifts, and directed that the allotment process be completed within two months of receiving the order.It also directed that the houses be allotted through a lottery system in the presence of the petitioners’ counsel. Legal heirs of deceased petitioners are also to be considered for allotment after due verification.The court made it clear that the houses allotted in lieu of the D-form pattas issued in Bhimrao Bada cannot be sold after five years of allotment.The petitioners told the court that Bhimrao Bada was officially declared a slum in 1991 and that residents were issued D-form pattas and provided basic civic amenities. They said families had been living on the 1,153 square metre site for nearly eight decades.The dispute arose after the govt, through GO No. 251 issued in 2008, withdrew the locality’s slum status and initiated the relocation of residents to Afzal Sagar. Challenging the move, the residents approached the high court, alleging that their houses were demolished, and they were evicted without due process of law.During the proceedings, an advocate commissioner appointed by the court inspected the site and submitted a report stating that the houses in the slum had been completely removed. The report also recorded the grievances raised by several affected residents during the inspection.Govt authorities defended the relocation exercise, arguing that the move to Afzal Sagar was intended to provide better facilities to the residents. They also informed the court that the state was now prepared to allot 2BHK houses to the affected families.Further, the court directed the Hyderabad district collector to oversee the entire allotment process and submit a detailed compliance report to the registrar (judicial) of the high court upon completion.
