Heritage conservators and enthusiasts, who had been fighting against the previous BRS government for the preservation of various heritage structures in Telangana, have taken a sigh of relief after the change in government.

In the past ten years, the government under K Chandrasekhar Rao demolished one heritage building after another ignoring the objections raised by heritage conservators or members of the civil society. Being the outcome of decades-long struggle for Telangana statehood the BRS was expected to be keen to preserve its rich heritage. But it was not to be as historical structures were razed to the ground bypassing all the rules.

Even when the activists moved courts, the powers that be ignored the stay issued by judges and brazenly demolished the protected structures. For instance, the BRS government demolished a heritage colonial-era bungalow which housed the IAS Association’s Club to build KCR’s camp-office cum residence, the palatial Pragathi Bhavan.

Public outcry and a petition in the high court were disregarded and the government counsel merely informed the court that the beautiful bungalow had already been razed to the ground.

Similarly, another key piece of history – the Saifabad Palace or ‘G’ block built during the reign of Nizam VI Mir Mahboob Ali Khan in 1885 was lost forever when the government under KCR razed all the buildings in the old Secretariat in 2020 to build a brand new one.

Again, the 135-year-old Warangal central jail of Nizam era was demolished overnight in 2021 to make way for a super-speciality hospital. The jail housed many prominent personalities including those who had participated in freedom struggle, Telangana peasants’ movement and statehood movement.

Although Rao had promised to make Hyderabad another Istanbul by preserving history while developing the city with modern facilities, in reality the dark cloud of demolition loomed over the magnificent Osmania Hospital and Errum Manzil Palace as long as Rao was at the helm though heritage conservators had moved high court to restore the heritage tag to 137 historical structures.

Deepak Kant Gir of Hyderabad Heritage Trust was instrumental in filing two PILs for the restoration and protection of the 137 structures. The high court had passed a favourable order declaring the Cabinet order of 2019 illegal. Yet Rao conducted bhoomi puja for the construction of a new assembly building after razing the beautiful but derelict Errum Manzil Palace.

Though the Urban Development Department restored some structures, including the Moazzam Jahi Market and Bansilalpet Stepwell, purists have doubts about the way they tackled the restoration.

Gir is hopeful of the Congress implementing its manifesto that promises to protect heritage restructures and restore them. “I will suggest the government to set up a trust and shift all such heritage buildings held by the government to the trust and draw up a separate fund,” said Gir.

Anuradha Reddy, city convenor of INTACH, said, “I hope this government will respect and restore heritage buildings and not demolish them.”