Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has made it clear that a residential building cannot be used for commercial purposes unless specific permission for such usage is granted by the competent municipal authorities, even if an application seeking conversion of the property is pending consideration.
Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar passed the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by Chalavadi Rajyalaxmi challenging an eviction notice issued by the Kothagudem municipal commissioner, directing her to vacate the premises within three days over alleged unauthorised commercial use of a residential property situated at Palvancha.
Senior counsel Raja Sripathi Rao appearing for the petitioner submitted that an application seeking conversion of the property from residential to commercial use had been filed before the regional director-cum-appellate commissioner of municipal administration, Warangal, pursuant to an earlier order of the High Court. It was argued that coercive steps such as eviction should not be taken until the application was decided.
On behalf of the municipality, standing counsel informed the court that the locality fell within a residential zone. The municipal council had passed a resolution recommending conversion of the property for commercial use and forwarded the same to the appellate authority for consideration. As no decision had been finalised, the authorities had issued eviction orders and sealed the building.
The High Court held that issuance of the eviction notice without deciding the application was improper and accordingly suspended the notice. At the same time, the court restrained the petitioner from using the premises for commercial purposes unless and until the authorities formally granted the requisite permission.
The court specifically clarified that merely because an application for conversion of land use from residential to commercial was pending before the authorities, the owner could not claim a right to commercially utilise the premises in the meantime.
High Court Orders DGMS Probe Into MEIL’s Alleged Illegal Diversion of Ramagundam Coal Mine Soil
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has directed the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) at Haripur to examine allegations of illegal diversion and transportation of overburden soil from the Ramagundam RG-III open cast coal mine in Peddapalli district by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) for construction of a greenfield highway from Mancherial to Warangal.
Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with a writ petition filed by Putta Mukesh, a resident of Erukulagudem in Manthani mandal, who alleged that nearly 40 lakh cubic metres of overburden soil, valued at around `22 crore, had been transported from the mine over six months without valid permissions or statutory clearances. The petitioner contended that the material should have been used for backfilling operations within the mine, as mandated under mining and environmental regulations.
The petitioner alleged violations of the Mines Act, 1952, Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986. It was also claimed that the authorities had not acted on four representations submitted them between November 2025 and March 2026 seeking action against the alleged illegal transportation.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) submitted that the petitioner’s representation dated February 19, 2026, could be considered by the DGMA authorities and not by the SCCL.
The court directed DGMA to examine the petitioner’s representation and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law within four weeks, by issuing notices to the petitioner as well as MEIL and providing an opportunity of hearing to both of them, and all other interested parties before taking a decision.
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