HC Directs the State To Consider the Establishment of Municipal Building Tribunal

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday suggested that the state government consider setting up a municipal construction tribunal to handle disputes related to permits, allegations of illegal construction and demolition proceedings. The court noted that an amendment to the GHMC Act made this easier a decade ago, but it is yet to be implemented.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparash Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin asked the government to look into this issue while hearing a writ plea filed by Srinivas Yadav of Habsiguda and D E Nagaraju of Malakpet challenging the dismissal of their petitions against grant of construction permits.

The petitioners had earlier approached the Supreme Court challenging the construction permission granted on October 10, 2025 in favor of Radeshyam Constructions and Developers for the construction of a building in Survey Nos. 106 and 107 at Kothapet in Uppal mandal of Medchal-Malkajgiri district.

A single judge had dismissed the petition after observing that the municipal authorities granted the permission only after the commissioner had prima facie verified the title and rights over the property in question. The court noted that the petitioners did not present convincing materials to justify the cancellation of the permit. The petitioners, who were disturbed by the decision, submitted their petition of objection to the interim injunction decision to the court panel.

During the hearing, the bench observed that a large number of cases related to allegations of illegal construction, demolition notices and disputes regarding construction permits were filed before the Supreme Court. The court was of the view that the establishment of a special tribunal consisting of a chairman and a technical member could facilitate faster adjudication of such disputes.

He stated that Section 462-A of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Act, 1955 mandates the establishment of tribunals to deal with unauthorized constructions. Although the GHMC Act was amended ten years ago to establish courts, the government had not established such a body. Moreover, the Supreme Court gave the government a statute of limitations in 2022 to establish the court. However, this was not complied with.

The Board stated that matters related to the issuance or cancellation of construction permits and demolition proceedings could be effectively handled by such a specialized forum. Accordingly, the Chief Justice bench requested the Solicitor General to submit the matter to the state government and examine the feasibility of setting up a tribunal for these matters.

The attorney general informed the court that he would discuss the proposal with the government. The court postponed the case to April 15 for the continuation of the hearing.