9 yrs on, 7-storey bldg unfinished at Haj House

Hyderabad: It’s almost a decade the incomplete ‘Garden View Wakf Mall’ in Nampally has been intriguing the visitors, as to what purpose it would serve once it gets completed, the officials are in a dilemma as to who will use the building. This huge structure adjacent to the Haj House which was started with much hype almost a decade back after the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy laid foundation stone remains under construction and now a breeding ground for mosquitoes with its basement filled with almost 4-ft deep water.

The massive 7-floor structure (with 2-floors in basement) is built on 3,800 sq ft land complementing the height of the Haj House, was originally meant for commercial use and aimed to help sustain the Wakf Board coffers and funding for welfare schemes of minorities. In 2009, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy laid a foundation stone of the building on a Wakf land next to Haj House. Even though the main structure was completed about 5 years back, the officials say that due to lack of funds the building could not be finished. “The government has decided to support the Minority Welfare schemes with the rentals and lease given to commercial use of building. But in the latest development it was decided to use the building as space for remaining departments which are located in different parts of the City,” said an official.

Earlier in 1999, the 11-storey Haj House building’s foundation stone was laid by Nara Chandrababu Naidu, former chief minister and Moulana Abdul Kareem Parekh, renowned Islamic scholar. This building was completed by 2001 (within two years) and continued with the name ‘Razzack Manzil’, the original donor of the land. The building currently houses minorities offices, like Haj committee, Waqf Board, Minority Finance Corporation, Urdu Academy, Quazzat (marriage certificate) office and some other offices.

Following bifurcation, the minority offices continued functioning at the same location but under State government of Telangana. While some other departments like Minority Welfare and new TSMREIS were scattered at different locations, a decision was recently taken by the government to shift those departments following construction of the 7-floor building, the ‘Garden View Wakf Mall’, but the delay of funds failed to help completion of the structure.

Answering to a query in a recent meeting about the ‘Garden View Waqf Mall’ TS Waqf Board, Chairman, Mohammed Saleem said that all minority offices will come under one roof, including minorities training centers, technical and non-technical courses, centers for minorities etc, or building would be given on a lease to the MNC company and an advertisement was also published in a newspaper regarding this, but still nothing is conformed, Saleem said.

The delay has slowly transformed the basement of the building into a mosquito breeding ground with water filled up to almost 4-ft inside the building. While some others feel that if there is no way for the water to drain, the structure will also become weak.