HC paves the way to raze secretariat

HC paves the way to raze secretariat

SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:30.06.2020

In a huge relief to the TRS government, the Telangana high court on Monday paved the way for raising a new secretariat complex.

Dismissing a batch of petitions questioning state cabinet’s decision to demolish existing secretariat and raise a new one in its place, a bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy said the petitioners were not justified in terming cabinet decision as ‘arbitrary.’ HC also brushed aside contention of one of the advocates, Chikkudu Prabhakar, who argued that the present secretariat is a common secretariat for Telangana and AP and only the governor could take a decision.

The bench faulted the contention that government could ill afford spent huge amounts on construction of a new secretariat at a time when the state exchequer is overburdened with debts.

DEMOLITION AHEAD?

Cannot intervene in policy decision of state, high court tells petitioner

Expenditure and its source are the concern of a state and not of its taxpayer,” the judges reasoned said, while agreeing with advocate general BS Prasad, who cited an order of the Gujarat high court delivered in a similar case.

The bench made it clear that it cannot intervene in the policy decision of the state. “That too at a time when the decision has not been taken finally. We were asked to merely look at the process done so far leading to a possible final decision,” the judges said, declining to do so.

The judges said the petitioners were not justified in claiming that the present buildings are adequate for the government. They said the contention whether the present buildings are adequate or inadequate is an issue that the court cannot go into. “The words ‘adequate’ or ‘inadequate’ are relative terms. What may be sufficient and adequate for one party, need not necessarily be sufficient and adequate for another party. Therefore, it is for the government to decide whether the present buildings are adequate or inadequate for its needs and requirements.” The petitioners — Congress leader S Jeevan Reddy and others — along with Professor PL Vishweshwar Rao of Telangana Jana Samithi and a few others contended in their pleas that the cabinet took a final decision on June 18, 2019, to demolish the present secretariat and raise a new one in its place.

The juges ruled that though the state was sufficiently briefed about the need to demolish the present structure and raise a new secretariat — both by the technical committee and by its own cabinet sub-committee — a final decision by cabinet on whether to go for a new secretariat or to modify existing one has not yet been taken. “Obviously, the cabinet decision of June 18, 2019, cited by the petitioners was interim. Hence, they are not justified in terming the cabinet decision as arbitrary,” the HC said.

Dismissing Prabhakar’s argument, the bench said: “This is a highly misplaced contention because AP had long ago vacated this place. Hence, the question of it (secretariat) remaining a common property or warranting the intervention of the governor would not even arise.”