The Telangana High Court on Monday, April 23, granted a status quo in a dispute over alleged illegal construction and demolition at Chiran Fort, a notified heritage building in Begumpet, listing the matter for further hearing on April 16.
The order came on a writ petition filed by Advocate Syed Ali Jaffry, who contended that Chiran Fort, located at Patigadda in Begumpet and classified as a Grade-II protected heritage site, was being subjected to unauthorised construction and demolition in violation of a 1998 government order issued by the then undivided Andhra Pradesh government.
That order prohibits any form of demolition, structural modification, alteration or redevelopment of notified heritage structures without prior approval. “Despite this, alleged demolition and construction activities are taking place with no action against them,” Jaffry stated.
The petitioner named several authorities as respondents, including officials of the state government, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the Department of Heritage Telangana, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board and the Begumpet Police, alleging that all had failed to act against the violations.
Steeped in history
Chiran Fort carries significant historical weight. The palace is associated with Sir Viqar-ul-Umra, who served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad State from 1893 to 1901 and as Amir-e-Paigah from 1881 to 1902.
Built in 1890, the structure was originally a zenana palace, or women’s palace, constructed for Sir Viqar-ul-Umra’s wife, Shahzadi Jahandarunissa Begum, daughter of Nawab Afzal-ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V, and sister of the sixth Nizam, Nawab Mahboob Ali Khan.
The palace later became the residence of Sir Viqar-ul-Umra’s grandsons. One portion, now known as Paigah Palace, was home to Nawab Nazeer Nawaz Jung, who was married to Shahzadi Dawoodunnisa Begum, the youngest daughter of the sixth Nizam.
His grandson, Obaid-Ur-Rehman, continues to reside there and has worked to preserve the family’s legacy, maintaining Paigah Palace as the last surviving remnant of its former glory.
The other portion of the zenana palace was sold by his cousins from the Fareed Nawaz Jung line to Prem Sagar Rao, a former Congress MLA from Mancherial. He ran the Chiran Fort Club from that portion for a period, though the club has not been operational for some time.
The palace has two burjs, or towers. The one on the Paigah Palace side remains intact. The burj within the Chiran Fort portion, however, has been recently demolished.
