Hyderabad: Ninety percent of the demolition of the state secretariat is now complete and has resulted in no less than 4,500 truckloads of debris, the Telangana government said here on Monday.
The demolition of the buildings had to be suspended for a few days following the court’s stay order, which was lifted on July 17.
The K. Chandrashekhar Rao-led government began razing the secretariat building complex to the ground on July 7, days after the Telangana high court dismissed a batch of PILs, challenging the state’s decision to construct a new secretariat complex by demolishing the existing one.
The official information on the demolition came after several petitions were filed in the high court, challenging the restrictions on the media by the state government at the Secretariat demolition site.
“The government has taken up demolition of the old buildings and removal of debris of the Old Secretariat to pave way for a new building complex.
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As a preventive measure, the government did not allow anyone into the premises, as there is a danger of accidents happening while demolishing the high-rise buildings. As part of this, media is also not allowed, it said.
As there were requests from the media representatives to allow them to report the demolition works, the government decided to allow them into the Secretariat premises to cover the news reports on the demolition works and clearing of the debris.
Following certain observations of the high court, on Monday, the government allowed the print and electronic media personnel, accompanied by senior officials, including police, to record the proceedings.
They were taken in minibuses and open top vehicles.
According to TV visuals, social distancing norms were not followed while taking the reporters for the guided tour in the vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Advocate General on Monday informed the High Court that media was being taken to the demolition site with police escort.