HYDERABAD: The Panjagutta IAS Officers' Colony is all set to lose its green cover. Due to the ongoing
demolition of quarters
, several trees got uprooted and many more have been pruned to make way for the new villas being planned for top officials.
Several bureaucrats, mostly All India Service officers, had developed gardens on the premises of their official accommodation, but most of them have been completely destroyed.
The government has proposed to build nearly 15 villas for top bureaucrats like chief secretary , director-general of police (DGP), state intelligence chief, chief minister's chief security officer, Hyderabad police commissioner and other senior officials.
There were 72 residential quarters at the colony and last month all the occupants had vacated them. The roads and buildings (R&B) department has allotted the responsibility of demolishing the 72 quarters to a contractor, who started pulling them down.
The Officers' Colony , which is spread over 10 acres, has nearly 300 trees. Due to the green cover, the colony has been a favourite with bureaucrats.
The contractor has been using two earth movers to pull down the concrete structures. However, he failed to take precautionary measures to protect greenery .
As a result, the debris of the structures was falling on trees and plants. Nearly 30 trees got uprooted and branches of a few more were axed during the demolition process, while gardens, which had ornamental and exotic plants, were completely destroyed. Tonnes of debris has piled up in the colony.
“The existing trees, which are nearly five decades, on the premises of the Officers' Colony will be protected. No tree will be chopped off. The layout for construction of villas will be prepared keeping the greenery in view. The trees, which are affected during pulling down structures, are only small trees,“ a senior roads & buildings department official told TOI.
A few trees had to be chopped for making way for villas as they were located in problematic areas.
The debris would be removed in two weeks, he added.