The Telangana High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Pollution Control Board and GHMC Commissioner over the blasting of a hillock near Nyay Vihar in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
The High Court initiated a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) after a High Court judge wrote a letter to the Chief Justice.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao on Wednesday took up the hearing and ordered notices to the State Pollution Control Board and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner.
Notices were also issued to principal secretaries of mines, environment & forests and municipal administration departments. The High Court later adjourned the hearing on the PIL.
High Court judge Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka, who is a resident of Nyay Vihar, the colony of judges, had written a letter to the Chief Justice, about the blasting of a hillock for new constructions.
Half of the hillock has reportedly disappeared in the last two years due to the daily blasting of boulders.
Daily blasting operations in the area have been reportedly leading to tremors and causing distress among residents in the surrounding areas, including Nyay Vikar, Bharani Layout and Film Nagar.
The High Court judge wrote a letter to the Chief Justice after the problem was highlighted by the media.
The hillock is being blasted every day with at least 10 blasts and the broken pieces of the boulders are transported. According to residents, the daily blasting has become a nightmare for them.
The blasts have led to the disappearance of half of the hillock and new constructions are coming up in the cleared-up space. The residents are also expressing the apprehension that blasting of the entire hillock may result in ecological imbalance.
Several rocks in upscale Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, and Cyberabad have disappeared during the last 2-3 decades for the construction of new houses, apartment buildings, offices and commercial complexes.
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