Narsingi road widening has triggered opposition from BRS MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao, who said a proposed 100-foot road alignment could affect nearly 4,000 families living in about 2,000 apartments in Hyderabad’s Gandipet mandal. He demanded the withdrawal of a 2026 gazette notification and restoration of the alignment approved in 2018.
Harish Rao raised the issue during a visit to Seven Hills, Western Meadows and other residential colonies on Saturday. According to the report, he inspected red markings allegedly placed by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority officials on buildings that could be affected by the project and interacted with residents who said they were uncertain about the future of their homes.
The MLA said many of the affected families had valid permissions and occupancy certificates. He alleged that the revised alignment could lead to the demolition of portions of apartment buildings, cellars, access roads, parking areas, walking tracks and other shared infrastructure. He also warned that such work could affect the safety and stability of residential communities.
Harish Rao said the original alignment had been modified by the then BRS government in 2018 through Government Order No. 181 after representations from local residents. According to his account, that alignment diverted the road through adjacent open land, protected a 400-year-old Hanuman temple and avoided the demolition of residential properties.
He alleged that a fresh gazette notification issued in 2026 changed the alignment again and placed thousands of families at risk of displacement. Harish Rao further alleged that the change was intended to benefit a private real estate venture and a corporate educational institution. These claims were made by the MLA and were not independently established in the report.
The BRS leader also alleged that government land had been undervalued during an auction process and that the road alignment was later modified to facilitate future high-rise development. He questioned whether statutory procedures for changing the master plan, including public notification, consultations and public hearings, had been followed.
Residents, according to the report, have faced difficulties in securing appointments with officials and submitting their grievances. Harish Rao also referred to complaints from nearby double-bedroom housing colonies concerning access roads and drainage, widening the issue beyond the potential impact on private apartment complexes.
The dispute highlights the administrative consequences of changing a road alignment after residential development has taken place. A road-widening decision can affect not only building façades but also parking, drainage, emergency access and common areas maintained by housing communities. The extent of the impact, the legal status of the 2026 notification and the final number of properties affected were not specified in the report.
Harish Rao said the BRS would coordinate with colony representatives and legal experts and pursue legal and democratic avenues against the revised alignment. He said the party could take the matter to the courts, HMDA offices and the state assembly while seeking restoration of the 2018 alignment.
