Hyderabad’s illegal-building boom still lacks a citywide count

Hyderabad has building rules, inspection procedures and even demolition tenders. What it does not have in the material currently available is a verified citywide count of illegal constructions. Administrative certainty, it seems, ends somewhere between the sanctioned plan and the next extra floor.

GHMC’s published process requires site inspections, photographs and scrutiny through the town-planning hierarchy. Its occupancy procedure allows deviations of up to 10% to be considered for compounding, while its unauthorised-construction circular provides for action against buildings constructed without permission or contrary to approved plans. GHMC has also published a tender for removing unauthorised additional floors and a penthouse near Gagan Mahal. (GHMC documents)

Telangana High Court records show individual disputes. In an Alwal case, GHMC said a stilt-plus-four building was proceeding with a compoundable 10% deviation. In a Tolichowki case, construction up to stilt-plus-five floors, including a penthouse, was recorded against permission for stilt-plus-two floors. Published reporting has also described alleged ACB traps involving GHMC officials, including a reported Rs 15 lakh case. Those reports need primary ACB or court records for independent verification.

Activists and residents allege fixed bribe rates, political interference and widespread violations. The available material does not establish those claims, the reported “over 50%” deviation figure or a causal link between bribery and a citywide building boom. The Congress government in Telangana has not publicly supplied the missing dataset either. For now, Hyderabad has documented violations—and an official system still waiting to publish its scorecard.