Telangana HC hears plea against Metro alignment through Old City heritage zonesThe Telangana High Court continued hearing petitions against the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase‑II alignment through Old City heritage precincts, with petitioners alleging lack of statutory approvals and seeking alternative routes. Mohiuddin of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday continued hearing a batch of petitions challenging the alignment of Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II, Corridor-VI, through the Old City’s notified heritage precincts and posted the matter to August 27 for further hearing. The petitions challenge the proposed Metro Rail alignment through the Charminar and Falaknuma heritage precincts, alleging that construction is being undertaken without a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment and the statutory approvals required under the Telangana Heritage Act, 2017 and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The petitioners also seek consideration of an alternative alignment to protect several notified heritage structures. Counsel for the petitioners contended that an independent Commissioner may be appointed to assess the impact of the ongoing Metro Rail works on the heritage structures situated along the proposed alignment.