Hyderabad: Illegal biz mushrooms, officials' eyes wide shut

HYDERABAD: Hundreds of illegal commercial shops have sprung up in Secunderabad right under the noses of authorities. These illegal shops do not have licences and store or manufacture combustible items and other products in residential areas of Tadbund (Secunderabad), East Marredpally, BHEL Colony located in Rasoolpura (Secunderabad), areas located behind erstwhile Anand Theatre.

In BHEL Colony located in Rasoolpura, commercial activities are being carried out in buildings which have house number clearly displayed on blue coloured boards. As per SCB norms, numbers for residential houses is displayed on blue plates while numbers of commercial establishments are displayed in red plates.

Given that property tax on commercial establishments are four to five times higher as compared to residential properties, many proprietor choose to run their businesses out of residential buildings to evade taxes. Some even choose to operate out of government buildings.

Many outlets continue to operate illegally in government premises despite the expiry of lease period. In Secunderabad and Begumpet, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) owns a total of 624 properties, of which, lease agreements of 534 shops has expired but they still continue to run.

"We are personally visiting the properties and asking them to renew the lease agreement, some shops have already renewed. Some people are also paying new rates," said Sreenivas Reddy, GHMC official from estates wing.

GHMC records reveal that not renewing agreements, owners not paying rents for years have become a common practice in the city. Hapless residents continue to suffer as illegal business thrive thanks to political support, corruption and leniency from GHMC and SCB officials.

"Politicians also interfere when civic officials serve notices and the corruption at ground level is something which needs to be tackled," said P M Sai Prasad, an RTI activist and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader.

M Narsing Rao Tax Superintendent of the SCB said that as soon as they get a complaint or see commercial activities in residential premises, they change the slab rate and owners have to to pay revised tax rates.